Vion Licenses Heterocyclic Hydrazones

Vion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that it had entered into an exclusive license agreement with a group of inventors from the Institute of Pharmacy and the Institute of Medical Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Innsbruck and Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft m.b.H. ("aws"), related to a group of heterocyclic hydrazone compounds covered by patents or patent applications in North America and Europe.

Vion had previously announced the execution of a research collaboration and option agreement with the inventors and aws in December 2003.

During the period of this agreement, Vion evaluated several compounds in preclinical studies and determined to enter into the license agreement.

Under the agreement, the Company will make an initial payment of $37,500 to the inventors and aws, and additional milestone payments based on the progress of clinical development and royalties based on product revenues.

Dr. Ivan King, Vice President, Research & Development, stated, "The hydrazones have unique chemical structures and biologic activity, and have shown potent cytotoxic activity in the National Cancer Institute's tumor cell panels and in vivo anticancer testing.”

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to develop these potential clinical candidates under an exclusive license agreement."

Dr. Manfred Lampl, Patent and Licensing Manager of Austria Wirtschaftsservice, stated, "We are delighted to engage Vion as an ongoing partner for further development of the hydrazones.”

“We believe that Vion's experience and competence in the field of cancer drug development will contribute significantly to the opportunity to establish new therapeutic options from these promising compounds."