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EXHIBIT 99.1
NEWS RELEASE
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jay LaMarche
Chief Financial Officer, ARIAD
(617) 494-0400
Tom Pearson (for media)
Pearson Communications
(610) 407-9260
Darcey Rakestraw (for investors)
SmallCaps Online Group, LLC
(212) 554-4158
DUAL-ACTION OSTEOPOROSIS DRUG CANDIDATE TARGETING
CRITICAL DISEASE GENE ANNOUNCED BY ARIAD
In vivo studies demonstrate both stimulation of bone formation and inhibition
of bone breakdown
CAMBRIDGE, MA, OCTOBER 16, 2000 - ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARIA)
today announced at the Salomon Smith Barney Health Care Conference the initial
results of in vivo studies on its small-molecule osteoporosis drug,
demonstrating not only inhibition of bone breakdown but also stimulation of new
bone formation. Development of a dual-action osteoporosis drug that affects both
stages of the normal process of bone remodeling has been a long-standing goal of
osteoporosis research, because such a drug would block bone loss, as well as
rebuild lost bone and prevent debilitating fractures in osteoporosis patients.
Clinical trials of ARIAD's new osteoporosis product candidate are being planned
for next year.
In papers published today in the Journal of Cell Biology by Marzia et al and in
Bone by Amling et al, an international group of scientists including ARIAD
collaborators, demonstrate, for the first time, that deleting the Src gene by
genetic methods leads not only to an arrest of bone-dissolving cells but also to
stimulation of bone-forming cells in animals. These genetic studies further
validate Src as a novel therapeutic target for osteoporosis and provide
mechanistic insights into the beneficial effects demonstrated with ARIAD's
dual-action Src inhibitor.
Today's presentation at the Salomon Smith Barney Health Care Conference in New
York highlights the medical importance of ARIAD's lead osteoporosis product
candidate. The Company's proprietary structure-based drug design methods were
used to discover AP23286, which selectively inhibits the Src tyrosine kinase in
bone cells and mimics the results of genetic studies in which the Src gene has
been deleted.
"The findings presented today and the publication of two definitive papers from
leading bone research groups should lead to improved therapies for patients with
osteoporosis," said Harvey J. Berger, M.D., chairman and chief executive officer
of ARIAD.
Osteoporosis is characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of
bone tissue, leading to bone fragility and increased susceptibility to fractures
of the hip, spine and wrist. During bone resorption, special cells on the bone's
surface (osteoclasts) dissolve bone tissue and create small cavities. During
formation, other cells (osteoblasts) fill the cavities with new bone tissue.
Osteoporosis results from a persistent imbalance in this remodeling process
which leads to loss of bone mass and strength.
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Men as well as women suffer from osteoporosis. In the United States, over 10
million individuals already have osteoporosis, and 18 million have low bone
mass, placing them at risk for the disease. One in two women and one in eight
men over the age of 50 are expected to have an osteoporosis-related fracture in
their lifetime. Osteoporosis is a silent disease, with bone loss progressing
without symptoms. Thus, most patients already have established osteoporosis by
the time the disease is diagnosed and need treatment with a drug that not only
stops further bone loss, but also promotes new bone formation. The estimated
national direct expenditure for osteoporosis and related fractures is
approximately $14 billion annually, and the current worldwide market for
osteoporosis therapies is over $3 billion annually. Available drugs marketed for
osteoporosis in the United States only target bone resorption, and all have
clinically important limitations.
The paper by Marzia et al, entitled "Decreased c-src expression leads to
enhanced osteoblast differentiation" (J. Cell Biol. 151(2), Oct. 16, 2000), and
the paper by Amling et al, "Progressive increase in bone mass and development of
odontomas in aging osteopetrotic c-src-deficient mice" (Bone 27(5), Nov. 2000),
are available online today at www.jcb.org and www.ibmsonline.org, respectively.
Further information on osteoporosis and available therapies can be found at the
websites for the National Institutes of Health Osteoporosis and Related Bone
Diseases National Resource Center (www.osteo.org) and the National Osteoporosis
Foundation (www.nof.org).
ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (www.ariad.com) is a leader in the discovery and
development of gene therapy, cell therapy, stem cell therapy and protein therapy
products featuring dose-dependent regulation by small-molecule drugs, as well as
small-molecule inhibitors of signal transduction.
Some of the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which include, but are not
limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding the Company's preclinical studies,
the ability of the Company to conduct clinical trials of its products and the
results of such trials, as well as risks and uncertainties relating to economic
conditions, markets, products, competition, intellectual property, services and
prices, key employees, future capital needs, dependence on our collaborators and
other factors under the heading "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements" in ARIAD's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 1999 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
