Galantos Pharma today announced that it has secured, for the development of new and innovative drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, € 500. 000 seed funding from the High-Tech Gruenderfonds and € 100

Mainz/Bonn, February 10, 2006

Galantos Pharma GmbH is a pharmaceutical start-up, founded in 2005, that is focusing on the development of new and better drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. By chemical modification of approved drugs and natural compounds, the Galantos R&D team aims at improving transport to and concentration levels in the brain, and at extending the modes of action of selected drugs, thereby creating new drugs with higher therapeutic efficacy and less unwanted side effects.

Presently, drug development of Galantos Pharma is centering on improving galantamine, an approved drug for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s dementia. The company has obtained the rights on pending patents describing numerous novel derivatives and structural relatives of the plant alkaloid galantamine. In addition, Galantos Pharma has established a technology platform that is particularly suitable for screening and preclinical validation of drug candidates that are acting on cholinergic and other neuro-receptors and on various brain enzymes.

A particularly interesting group of novel derivatives are the so called „pro-drugs“. In these, the original drug is conjugated to molecules or groups that are particularly well transported through the blood-brain barrier, resulting in higher enrichment in the brain. After arriving there, the pro-drugs are converted back to the original drug and act as such. In this way, much higher concentration levels of the drugs can be achieved at the site of action, resulting in higher therapeutic efficacy and allowing lower drug dosing.

Professor Alfred Maelicke, CEO of Galantos Pharma, stated: „The market for Alzheimer drugs will soon enter a phase of serious turmoil, as practically all presently approved drugs will loose their patent protection, and new therapies will not be available for many years to come. Moreover, there is a burning medical need for better therapies for this devastating disease. At present, these needs can best be satisfied by drugs that are improvements of existing drugs rather than new drugs, as their clinical development can be achieved in much shorter periods of time, with much less risk and less financial strain.”

Recent market studies confirm that the Alzheimer market has the largest potential of all drug markets, it is rapidly growing but still is largely underdeveloped. Presently, less than 20% of all patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease are treated with approved drugs.

The buildup and expansion of Galantos Pharma is supported by the accredited coaches Ernst G. Mayer and Sirius Advisory Partners.

Contact:

Galantos Pharma GmbH

Freiligrathstrasse 12

D-55131 Mainz

Tel: +49-6131-1440310

Fax: +49-6131-144033

The Sirius Advisory Partners GmbH is qualified partner for corporate finance consulting. With broad services within the areas of business planning, finance & equity, mergers & acquisitions as well as market- und technology research Sirius Advisory Partners supports small- and medium-sized technology-oriented companies in growth and development. Sirius Advisory Partners is an accredited coach of the High-Tech Gruenderfonds.

Sirius Advisory Partners GmbH

Viktoriastr. 3

65189 Wiesbaden

Fax +49 (611) 69 66 99 – 90

Internet: www.sirius-advisory.com

e-Mail: info@sirius-advisory.com

The consulting services of Ernst G. Mayer primarily address founders and companies in the early stages of development, which possess unique selling propositions and competitive advantages based on innovation. The consulting aims at the development and improvement of sustainable business concepts and the design of passable ways of financing these concepts. Furthermore he implements reporting and controlling systems for investors. Ernst G. Mayer is an accredited coach of the High-Tech Gruenderfonds.

Ernst G. Mayer

c/o Sirius Venture Partners GmbH

Eupener Str. 150

50933 Köln
Tel.: 0221-453761-12

Fax: 02234-437031

Email: info@ernst-g-mayer.de

emayer@sirius-venture.com

Internet: www. ernst-g-mayer.de

www.sirius-venture.com

Germany’s High-Tech Gründerfonds is a seed investor for technology startups that build on promising research projects. In addition to supplying seed capital, the investor provides guidance and support for the management. The High-Tech Gründerfonds has €262 million under management in a fund comprising contributions from the German government as well as from KfW Bankengruppe, BASF, Deutsche Telekom, and Siemens