Rexahn Awarded Patent in Japan for RX-0047

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Amex: RNN), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing potential best in class oncology and CNS therapeutics, today announced that it was awarded patent 4,546,454 entitled, "Antisense Oligonucleotides that Inhibit Expression of HIF-1," by the Japanese Patent Office.

Corresponding patents have been issued to Rexahn in other jurisdictions, including the U.S. and Europe.

The Japan patent covers Rexahn's preclinical compound RX-0047 and a method of inhibiting the expression of HIF-1 in human cells or tissues. HIF-1, a human protein, is involved in angiogenesis, cancer cell survival, radiation resistance and cancer metastasis. Increased HIF-1 levels are associated with poor prognosis and increased mortality in several tumors. RX-0047 has demonstrated the ability to inhibit the expression of HIF-1 and also to induce toxicity in several cancer cell lines. Preclinical studies to date have demonstrated potent anti-proliferative, anti-tumor and anti-metastatic activities.

Rick Soni, President of Rexahn, noted, "Obtaining this additional patent coverage for RX-0047 in the large pharmaceutical market of Japan is another step forward for the development of this compound, and helps strengthen our overall global intellectual property position."

About Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing first in class and market leading therapeutics for cancer, CNS disorders, sexual dysfunction and other unmet medical needs. Rexahn currently has three drug candidates in Phase II clinical trials, Archexin(R), Serdaxin(R), and Zoraxel(TM) - all potential best in class therapeutics - and a robust pipeline of preclinical compounds to treat multiple cancers and CNS disorders. Rexahn also operates key R&D programs of nano-medicines, 3D-GOLD, and TIMES drug discovery platforms. For more information, please visit www.rexahn.com.

Safe Harbor

To the extent any statements made in this press release deal with information that is not historical, these are forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about Rexahn's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions with respect to future operations and products and other statements identified by words such as "will," "potential," "could," "can," "believe," "intends," "continue," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "may," other words of similar meaning or the use of future dates. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. Uncertainties and risks may cause Rexahn's actual results to be materially different than those expressed in or implied by Rexahn's forward-looking statements. For Rexahn, particular uncertainties and risks include, among others, the difficulty of developing pharmaceutical products, obtaining regulatory and other approvals and achieving market acceptance; the marketing success of Rexahn's licensees or sublicensees; the success of clinical testing; and Rexahn's need for and ability to obtain additional financing. More detailed information on these and additional factors that could affect Rexahn's actual results are described in Rexahn's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. All forward-looking statements in this news release speak only as of the date of this news release. Rexahn undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.


    Source: Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc.