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Convergence Pharmaceuticals and
Consortium Partners Win European Commission FP7 Grant for the PROPANE
ProjectCambridge, UK, 8 January 2014: Convergence Pharmaceuticals Limited ("Convergence"), the company focused on the development of novel and high value analgesic medicines for the treatment of chronic pain, today announces the award of a prestigious Framework Project 7 (FP7) grant, worth €4.8 million. This is part of a world class consortium involving clinical and academic pain experts in the EU and US. Building upon ground-breaking research related to the field of genetics and pain, the PROPANE grant will be used to probe the genetics of sodium channels in painful neuropathies through a broad multidisciplinary approach. The academic partners involved in the Consortium are; IRCCS Foundation, "Carlo Besta" Neurological Institute, Milan (Italy), (Coordinator). Maastricht University (The Netherlands), Yale School of Medicine (USA), Centre for Endocrinology & Diabetes, The University of Manchester (UK), German Diabetes Centre at Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf (Germany), Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology – IPMC – CNRS & University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis (France), San Raffaele Foundation Centre (Italy), and CF Consulting SRL (Italy). Convergence will use electrophysiology to discover putative selective pharmacotherapies tailored to pain-related patient’s genotype. Convergence is currently running three separate phase II pain studies and therefore is well placed to build upon key findings from this consortium and translate them into future clinical development. FP7 is the European Union's main instrument for supporting innovative research in Europe, and has two main strategic objectives: - to strengthen the scientific and technological base of European industry - to encourage its international competitiveness, while promoting research that supports EU policies Simon Tate, Chief Scientific Officer of Convergence Pharmaceuticals, commented: "We are delighted to have been awarded this grant that will enable us to continue ground-breaking electrophysiology work. This is a great endorsement of the work Convergence is doing in this therapeutic area and we are honoured that the European Commission and the PROPANE Consortium have chosen to partner with us." About Convergence Pharmaceuticals Convergence Pharmaceuticals is an independent biotechnology company focused on the development of novel analgesics with potentially commercially attractive efficacy, responderrate and side effect profiles. The Company, led by CEO Clive Dix, was formed in October 2010 following the acquisition of certain neuroscience clinical assets from GlaxoSmithKline ("GSK"). The Company has a pipeline of differentiated clinical-stage compounds targeting the points of convergence in chronic pain signalling through modulation of specific ion-channels. Convergence Pharmaceuticals is well funded and raised US$35.4 million in Series A financing from a syndicate of leading European and US financial institutions. For more information please go to the Company’s website at www.convergencepharma.com. For more information about Convergence Pharmaceuticals, please contact: Convergence Pharmaceuticals Dr Clive Dix, Chief Executive Officer Dr Simon Tate, Chief Scientific Officer T: +44 (0)1223 755 501 E: info @convergencepharma.com Consilium Strategic Communications Mary-Jane Elliott/ Amber Bielecka/ Matthew Neal/ Lindsey Neville T: +44 (0)20 7920 2354 E: convergence @consilium-comms.com |