Pappas Capital Announces the Passing of…

Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing anti-inflammatory drugs, announced today that it has entered into a license agreement with Eli Lilly and Company and Shionogi & Co., Ltd. under which Anthera has obtained worldwide (except for Japan) development and commercialization rights to an entire platform of clinical and preclinical inhibitors of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) developed by Lilly and Shionogi as part of their collaboration. Inflammation plays a central role in a number of life-threatening diseases including acute lung injury, atherosclerosis, and psoriasis. PLA2 consists of a family of enzymes upstream in the arachidonic acid pathway of inflammation, which is responsible for production of leukotrienes, oxidants and other pro- inflammatory mediators. A substantial evidence base specifically implicates PLA2 in each of the disease states addressed by Anthera’s development programs -- the most advanced of which is an early intervention therapy in acute chest syndrome in patients with sickle cell disease.