Marillion Pharmaceuticals Initiates Clinical Development of Novel Anticancer Drug

Marillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held
development-stage pharmaceutical company focused on novel therapeutics
for the treatment of cancer, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases,
announced today that its investigational new drug application (IND)
has been cleared by the FDA. Marillion is now able to proceed with its
planned Phase 1 human clinical trial for the company's lead product
candidate, MN-201, an orally administered vitamin D5 analog for the
treatment of cancer.

The Phase I trial will be an open-label, dose-escalation study to
evaluate the safety and pharmacology of MN-201 in patients with
advanced tumors in various cancers. The protocol for the clinical
trial is currently before institutional review boards (IRBs) at the
sites selected for the trial and clinical supplies are being prepared.

"MN-201 is the first synthetic vitamin D5 receptor ligand (VDRL)
to be advanced into clinical trials for a variety of cancers including
breast, prostate and colon cancers," said Zahed Subhan, Ph.D, chief
executive officer of Marillion Pharmaceuticals. "Based on a novel
mechanism of action, MN-201 could have utility as both a monotherapy
in the treatment of various malignancies and for use in combination
with other chemotherapeutic agents where synergistic benefits may be
possible," added Dr. Subhan.

In preclinical studies, MN-201 demonstrated broad anti-tumor
activity in cancer cells. In animal models, oral administration of
MN-201 also resulted in anti-tumor activity including tumor regression
in xenograft models of major solid tumor types. In contrast to
treatment with other vitamin D(3) analogs and the naturally occurring
vitamin D hormone, calcitriol, favorable anticancer effects with
MN-201 were observed in the absence of significantly raised calcium
levels.

About Marillion Pharmaceuticals

Marillion Pharmaceuticals is an emerging pharmaceuticals company
dedicated to the development and commercialization of novel
therapeutics for the treatment of cancers, inflammatory and autoimmune
diseases. Marillion's product pipeline addresses unmet medical needs
with a target market that is expected to grow significantly, reaching
more than $1 billion annually by 2010 in North America alone.
Marillion is a spin-out company from the University of Pennsylvania
and was founded in February 2005 following seed funding received from
BioAdvance. Series A funding was received from APIDC/Venture East.
Visit www.marillionpharma.com for more information.