Vitae Pharmaceuticals to Present at Windhover’s Annual Therapeutic Area Partnerships Conference

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an integrated discovery and development company, today announced the company’s novel, clinical-stage renin inhibitor, VTP-27999, has been recognized by Windhover as a “Top 10 Project to Watch” in the cardiovascular/metabolic disease category. Top 10 projects in four therapeutic areas will be highlighted at Windhover’s annual Therapeutic Area Partnerships meeting in Boston, MA. Jeffrey Hatfield, Vitae’s Chief Executive Officer, will present information on VTP-27999 at the meeting on November 18, 2009.

“Selected companies have been screened using a strict set of judging criteria for the Top 10 award and represent what our committees considered the most attractive metabolic and cardiovascular opportunities the industry has to offer”

“We are honored to be included in this select group of programs,” commented Mr. Hatfield. “This recognition further validates our belief that VTP-27999 may offer a powerful approach to blood pressure control and, importantly, providing superior end organ protection. The presentation at Windhover will review topline data from our Phase 1 study of VTP-27999, which was initiated in September, as well as select preclinical findings.”

Windhover’s Therapeutic Area Partnerships meeting is the industry's most targeted and efficient partnering meeting for life science companies seeking partnerships in the top therapeutic areas. “Selected companies have been screened using a strict set of judging criteria for the Top 10 award and represent what our committees considered the most attractive metabolic and cardiovascular opportunities the industry has to offer,” said Roger Longman, Managing Director of Windhover Information. “Winners have met rigorous criteria including: unmet medical need, market potential, diversity of indications, strong science, multi-level partnering opportunities (biotech and pharma), potential for new opportunities beyond initial indications and corporate stability.”

About VTP-27999

VTP-27999 is a novel, potent and selective renin inhibitor discovered and advanced by Vitae Pharmaceuticals using the company’s proprietary structure-based design platform. In animal models of hypertension, VTP-27999 demonstrated significant and sustained reductions in blood pressure, as well as beneficial end organ protection effects and enhanced survival. In addition, preclinical studies showed VTP-27999 had picomolar inhibitory activity against renin and a PK profile supporting once-daily dosing.

About Renin

Renin is an enzyme secreted by the kidney in response to a decrease in blood pressure and circulating blood volume. It plays an important role in the regulation of blood pressure and has been a broadly pursued but extremely difficult target to drug within the pharmaceutical industry for many years. Within the bloodstream, renin initiates a series of reactions in the renin-angiotensin system to induce vascular constriction and increase vascular resistance, correspondingly increasing blood pressure. Suppression of the renin angiotensin system using angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) drug therapies has been shown to reduce blood pressure and associated renal and cardiovascular events.

About Hypertension and End-Organ Diseases

Hypertension is a common disorder characterized by high blood pressure. Hypertension causes stress on the heart, blood vessels and vital organs such as the kidney and brain. Patients with high blood pressure have a significantly greater risk of heart attack, stroke, renal disease, aortic aneurysms, left ventricular hypertrophy and heart failure. Hypertension is a major contributing cause of disease and death worldwide. More than one in three Europeans and North Americans over the age of 35 have hypertension – an estimated 70 million people in the U.S. currently suffer from hypertension and the number is expected to grow to 100 million over the next decade. More than half of those on current therapies remain insufficiently controlled, indicating a clear need for new and more effective treatment options.

Vitae Pharmaceuticals

Vitae Pharmaceuticals is an integrated discovery and development company with a maturing portfolio of programs in areas of high unmet medical need including the cardiovascular, diabetes and Alzheimer’s therapeutic areas. Vitae is expert in structure-based drug design and combines a proprietary technical platform with the experience and insight of world class scientists to advance potential best-in-class compounds for high-value, hard to drug targets.

Vitae’s proprietary discovery platform, CONTOUR™, has clear advantages in creating and analyzing novel drug candidates that meet pre-defined physiochemical characteristics. The accuracy and speed of this system has enabled Vitae to solve challenging targets in multiple therapeutic areas -- discovering and advancing attractive compounds in a rapid and highly capital efficient manner. Located in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, Vitae is financed by leading corporate and venture capital investors, having completed its last venture round in 2004. For additional information on Vitae, please visit the company’s website at www.vitaepharma.com.