Dr Ko-Chung Lin, founder and chief executive officer of PharmaEssentia, former co-founder of the discovery chemistry team at Biogen and the inventor of P1101 at PharmaEssentia, said, "KX01's unique mechanism of action affords great promise in treating psoriasis. Our internal expertise in chemistry and formulation will allow us to advance this program in an expedited way. Psoriasis is a disease that needs better treatment and we believe that we will be in a good position to provide an effective novel therapy for these patients in Asia."

Dr Ching-Leou Teng, chairperson of the board, chief scientific officer and also a former US Food and Drug Administration reviewer, added, "We were impressed by the experience of Kinex's management team. Our due diligence process indicated the strong potential value of KX01 in the dermatologic setting and we are delighted to partner with Kinex Pharmaceuticals to explore these indications. Kinex Pharmaceuticals has had excellent success with their regulatory filings in the US and we are confident that we will be able to file our IND application for dermatology indications very soon."

"We are pleased to collaborate with PharmaEssentia to develop KX01 for dermatology preparations and indications. We are highly confident in the accomplished PharmaEssentia management team and their strong commitment to research and development," said Dr Allen Barnett, president emeritus of Kinex Pharmaceuticals who was credited for his effort in the discovery and development of Claritin when he was working at the Schering-Plough Research Institute. His team in Schering-Plough also developed Clarinex and Zetia.

Dr David Hangauer, chief scientific officer, added, "We are impressed by the ability of the PharmaEssentia team to quickly explore the dermatology formulation of KX01. Based on comparing the profile of KX01 to the various pathogenetic mechanisms involved with psoriasis, I am confident that KX01 will find a niche in dermatology. I look forward to working together with PharmaEssentia to explore the full potential of KX01 for dermatology indications."

Dr Jinn Wu, director of Kinex's Board and President and CEO of Xenobiotic Laboratories and XBL-China, concludes, "PharmaEssentia is one of the leading biotechnology companies in Taiwan and their management consists of seasoned executives. I am confident that their know-how will foster the success of this partnership. As a native Chinese citizen who grew up in Taiwan, I am gratified to see PharmaEssentia taking the lead in the dermatology field to further foster biotechnology development in Taiwan."