XTL Biopharmaceuticals, Ltd. Completes the Acquisition of MinoGuard

HERZELIYA, Israel, November 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

MinoGuard develops drugs to treat mental health diseases. MinoGuard's lead drug for the treatment of schizophrenia patients is intended to improve the efficacy of existing treatments and minimize their side effects.

MinoGuard has successfully completed a phase 2a clinical trial conducted on about 70 schizophrenics and demonstrated that the use of the drug enhances the positive symptoms of the disease and minimizes the negative symptoms.

On November 30, 2011, XTL announced that it had completed the acquisition of MinoGuard Ltd. MinoGuard was founded in 2007 in order to develop and commercialize combination therapies for treating psychotic diseases, focusing on schizophrenia.

MinoGuard was founded by Mor Research Applications Ltd., technology transfer office of Clalit Health Services, on the basis of a discovery made by Prof. Yechiel Levkovitz and Dr. Shlomo Mendlovic, heads of departments at the Shalvata Mental Health Center.

SAM-101, MinoGuard's lead drug, is based on a combination of existing anti-psychotic drugs and a recognized medicinal compound.

Schizophrenia is a severe (psychotic) chronic mental health disorder, one of the most frequent mental health diseases. It affects most of the mental and social functioning capabilities, moods, perceptions, thoughts and cognitive functions.

MinoGuard has successfully completed a Phase 2a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial conducted on about 70 schizophrenics. The trial's endpoints were met, demonstrating that SAM-101 improves the positive symptoms of the disease as well as the patients' cognitive state, minimizes the negative symptoms (social parameters and patient cognition) and reduces weight gain side effect among patients.

Ronen Twito, XTL's CFO, stated that "the execution of the transaction by way of paying royalties on sales/sublicenses and milestone based payments throughout the clinical development process creates a business partnership with the technology developers that will allow coordinating the best business and financial efforts for future SAM-101 development."

According to estimates of the US National Institute of Mental Health, about 1.1% of the adult population in the US has schizophrenia. Decision Resources estimated the schizophrenia therapy market at some $ 6.4 billion in 2010.

David Grossman, the CEO of XTL, noted that "we are pleased at the completion of the acquisition of MinoGuard, which represents a significant expansion of the company's drug development pipeline. SAM-101 addresses an extensive market which is expected to undergo a significant change in schizophrenia drug pricing in the coming years after most of these drugs become generic, which we estimate will lead to business opportunities for the company in the schizophrenia therapy market."

About XTL Biopharmaceuticals, Ltd.

XTL Biopharmaceuticals, Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the acquisition, development, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. The Company is focused on developing a drug for the treatment of multiple myeloma and Hepatitis C. The Company has a unique treatment for multiple myeloma cancer patients based on EPO, a genetically engineered version of a natural hormone produced by the kidneys. The drug has been approved for marketing by the FDA and has for many years been sold for billions of dollars across the world for the treatment of severe anemia. Additionally, the Company has an agreement with Presidio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., to develop a drug for the treatment of Hepatitis C based on the Company's DOS technology.

XTL is a public company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE: XTL) and its ADRs are quoted in the US on the Pink Sheets (Pink Sheets: XTLBY).

Contact:
Investor Relations, XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd.
Tel: +972-9-955-7080,
[email protected]

SOURCE XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd