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Polyphor and Taisho enter into research collaboration on novel drug candidates

Allschwil, Switzerland, September 17, 2015. Polyphor Ltd, a privately held pharmaceutical company specialized in the discovery and development of macrocycle drugs, today announced the signing of a research collaboration agreement with Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The parties will collaborate on the identification of novel drug candidates based on Polyphor's proprietary macrocycle platform.

Michael Altorfer, Ph.D., CEO of Polyphor, said: "Taisho has a long history and an impressive track record in the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative drugs. Polyphor's proprietary research program will benefit in scale and scope from this collaboration as well as through Taisho's specific expertise. This marks another important step on our way to fully exploit the potential of our unique macrocycle platform and to build a broad portfolio of compounds with the potential to be first-in-class or best-in-class in areas of high unmet medical need."

Financial details were not disclosed.

About Polyphor Ltd:
Polyphor is a Swiss Pharma company focusing on the discovery and development of macrocycle drugs addressing high unmet medical needs. Macrocycles represent a new drug class complementary to the traditional small molecules and large biopharmaceuticals. Polyphor leverages its unique and proprietary technology platforms to develop its own product portfolio and to pursue licensing and collaboration opportunities with industry partners. The company's lead drug candidates include POL6326, Balixafortide, (Phase II), a CXCR4 antagonist, for tissue repair and combination treatments in oncology; POL7080 (Phase II), a highly specific antibiotic with a novel mode-of-action to treat Pseudomonas infections; and POL6014 (Phase I), an inhaled inhibitor of neutrophil elastase for the treatment of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, Cystic Fibrosis, and other lung diseases. Polyphor is a privately held company with about 100 employees, headquartered in Allschwil, near Basel. For additional information, please visit www.polyphor.com.