Eurofins-Cerep

Regulatory Filings • Jun 17, 2009

Cerep and Servier establish a new collaboration agreement for drug discovery and lead optimization

Paris, France, June 17, 2009 - press release 2009/07

Cerep today announces the signature with Servier of a 3-year collaboration agreement for the discovery and optimization of new drugs.

The terms of the agreement provide that Servier will identify targets of interest and will transfer to Cerep its collection of compounds. Cerep will be responsible for the development and validation of the corresponding pharmacological assays and will run high throughput screenings on Servier library.

As part of this agreement, Cerep will also profile hit compounds identified during the high throughput screening campaigns as well as the drug candidates optimized for the selected target. Screening and profiling data will be made available in real time through the secured web access system Data OnLine developed by Cerep.

In addition, Servier will have access to BioPrint® services for an improved interpretation of in vitro data and for a better selection of drug candidates with less potential side effects and optimized safety profile.

Financial terms of the agreement are undisclosed; they include a monthly payment during the 3 years of the collaboration.

Thierry Jean, Chairman and CEO of Cerep, commented: "Servier is an historical partner of Cerep and we have continuously entertained excellent relationships. We are particularly happy to sign a new collaboration which illustrates the high level of confidence and respect shared by the two companies."

Emmanuel Canet, President of Research and Development of Servier, declared: "With this agreement, Servier takes a new step in its contribution to medical progress and therapeutic innovation and confirms its commitment to collaborate with innovative biotech and research companies in France."

Bernard Marchand, Research Director at Servier, added : "With its experience in the development of new pharmacological assays, its organization and expertise in compound management and screening, but also the access to its BioPrint® database and tools, Cerep is a partner of choice for our new drug discovery research programs."

Contacts

Thierry Jean, Chairman & CEO Sophie Macault, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary Tel. +33 (0)1 45 64 44 60 fincom@cerep.fr

Code ISIN FR0004042232 Euronext Paris Euronext - Local Securities

Cerep SA 155 boulevard Haussmann 75008 Paris France tel + 33(0)145 64 44 60 fax +33(0)145 64 44 64 e-mail: fincom@cerep.fr www.cerep.com Focussing on in vitro pharmacology and ADME-Tox, Cerep [Nyse Euronext – CER] provides solutions allowing cost-effective drug discovery by identifying at early stages the most promising drug candidates and eliminating compounds likely to fail in development. Cerep's technologies benefit to more than 460 pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies worldwide including most of the top pharmaceutical firms.

Statements included in this press release which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, "forward-looking statements" for purposes of the safe harbor provided by Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "expects" and similar expressions. The company cautions readers that forward-looking statements, including without limitation those relating to the company's future operations and business prospects, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forwardlooking statements. Factors that may affect future operations and business prospects include, but are not limited to, clinical and scientific results and developments concerning corporate collaborations and the company's proprietary rights and other factors described in the company's Document de référence.