Healthcare Industry News: Curis
News Release - October 3, 2006
Curis, Inc. Agrees to Settlement with Micromet AG
Micromet Required to Pay Curis up to EUR 2 Million (Approximately $2.5 Million) in Two Installments on or before May 31, 2007 to Settle Disputed NoteCAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Curis, Inc., (NASDAQ: CRIS ), a therapeutic drug development company focusing on cancer, neurological and dermatological disease indications, announced today it has entered into a court-proposed settlement agreement with Micromet, a former collaborator, to resolve a claim brought in German court by Curis over payments due to Curis under an amended note payable from Micromet. In accordance with the settlement, Micromet has agreed to pay Curis EUR 1 million, due on November 1, 2006, and EUR 1 million, due on May 31, 2007. Should Micromet make the second payment on or before April 30, 2007, the second payment would decrease to EUR 800,000. Using recent currency exchange rates, the total amount that Micromet has agreed to pay Curis is $2.5 million, or $2.25 million if Micromet elects to pay the second installment by April 30, 2007. Future changes in currency exchange rates may increase or decrease the actual amount of U.S. dollars received by Curis.
"We're pleased that Micromet has agreed to honor its obligations under the amended note we previously negotiated with the company," said Curis President and CEO Dan Passeri. "We plan to use the proceeds of the settlement to fund our continued operations, including the development of our new platform of proprietary cancer programs that target multiple validated cancer pathways."
In July 2001, Curis entered into a collaboration arrangement with Micromet which included the sale to Micromet of certain Curis assets in exchange for, among other things, a promissory note which, as amended in October 2004, obligated Micromet to pay Curis up to EUR 4.5 million, subject to certain conditions. Curis received payments totaling EUR 2.5 million from Micromet in 2004 and 2005. The remaining EUR 2 million due under the amended note was payable to Curis upon the achievement by Micromet of certain financing objectives or upon an exit event, as defined in the amended note. Curis asserted that the conditions precedent to the payment of the remaining EUR 2 million had been achieved through Micromet's recent merger with Cancervax, a claim that Micromet disputed. As a result, Curis filed suit in Germany and the parties subsequently agreed to the settlement described above.
About Curis, Inc.
Curis, Inc. is a therapeutic drug development company focusing on cancer, neurological and dermatological disease indications, with technologies that utilize regulatory pathways that control repair and regeneration. Curis' product development involves the use of small molecules or proteins to modulate these pathways. The company has successfully used this technology and product development approach to produce several promising drug product candidates in the fields of cancer (under collaboration with Genentech, as well as new proprietary cancer programs that target multiple validated cancer pathways), neurological disorders (under collaboration with Wyeth), hair growth (under collaboration with Procter & Gamble), kidney and other diseases (licensed to Ortho Biotech Products and under development at Centocor, both subsidiaries of Johnson & Johnson), as well as cardiovascular disease. For more information, please visit www.Curis.com.
Cautionary Statement: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements concerning Curis's expectation that it will receive the settlement payments that Micromet has agreed to make and that it expects to use the proceeds of the settlement to fund its continued operations, including the development of Curis's new platform of proprietary cancer programs that target multiple validated cancer pathways. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results to be materially different from those indicated by such forward-looking statements including, among other things:
- adverse results, delays and/or failures in the Company's and its strategic collaborators' and licensees' product development programs;
- difficulties or delays in obtaining or maintaining required regulatory approvals for products being developed by the Company and its collaborators and licensees;
- the Company's ability to obtain or maintain the patent and other proprietary intellectual property protection necessary for the development and commercialization of products based on its technologies;
- changes in or the Company's inability to execute its business plan;
- the risk that Curis does not obtain the additional funding required to conduct research and development of its product candidates and execute the Company's business plan;
- unplanned cash requirements and expenditures;
- risks relating to the Company's ability to enter into and maintain important strategic collaborations, including its ability to maintain its current collaboration agreements with Genentech, Wyeth, and Procter & Gamble as well as its license agreement with Ortho Biotech Products;
- the risk that competitors will discover and develop signaling pathway-based or other competing therapeutics faster and more successfully than the Company and its collaborators are able to;
- and other risk factors identified in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and subsequent reports periodically filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In addition, any forward-looking statements represent the Company's views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source: Curis
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