Collegeville, Pa., and Antony, France -- February 9, 1999 – Rhône-Poulenc Rorer Inc., a global pharmaceutical subsidiary of Rhône-Poulenc S.A. (NYSE: RP), today announced the formation of a collaborative research, development and commercialization agreement with Targacept, Inc. to develop new drugs to treat Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Under the agreement, Rhône-Poulenc Rorer (RPR) has obtained exclusive global rights to certain nicotinic compounds that have shown potential to treat Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. The agreement also establishes a two-year collaboration period for further development of brain-selective nicotinic compounds for treatment of these two diseases.

Evidence for an involvement of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in neurodegenerative disorders has stimulated research for therapeutic products whose action is specific to these receptors. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are mostly concentrated in the brain, spinal cord, other nerve cells and on the muscles of the body. Studies have shown that these receptors are involved in cognition, pain and neurodegeneration.

"This agreement will help us develop and test drugs that may prove beneficial in the treatment of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases," said Francois Meyer, Senior Vice President, Research at RPR. "RPR is committed to the development of therapies for neurodegenerative diseases and launched its first global product in this area in 1996 -- Rilutek® (riluzole)."

"This collaboration marries Targacept's expertise in nicotinic chemistry and pharmacology with Rhône-Poulenc Rorer's strengths in developing and commercializing therapeutics for the central nervous system," said Targacept President J. Donald deBethizy, Ph.D. "We are very excited about the potential to help alleviate some of the suffering experienced by millions of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, and their families."

The agreement provides for potential payments to Targacept in the form of license fees, research funding, milestone payments and royalties, as well as a potential equity investment by Rhône-Poulenc Rorer in Targacept. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Targacept is a wholly owned subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, a subsidiary of RJR Nabisco, Inc. (NYSE: RN). Targacept was formed in 1997 to design, synthesize and evaluate new compounds that can interact with nicotinic receptors in the human nervous system to treat diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, attention-deficit disorder, ulcerative colitis, schizophrenia and others.

This Press Release was published by
DBP - Deutsches Büro für Presseerklärungen
(Schwerpunkt Pharmaindustrie/Medizintechnik) 

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