Materia Licenses Metathesis Catalyst Platform to Merck & Co., Inc

Business Wire, Dec 14, 2006

PASADENA, Calif. -- Materia, Inc., a catalyst technology company, announced today the non-exclusive licensing of its metathesis platform to Merck & Co, Inc., a global pharmaceutical company, for use in the discovery and development of pharmaceuticals. No financial terms of the agreement were disclosed.

Metathesis catalysts enable the formation and manipulation of carbon-carbon bonds in the synthesis of entirely new pharmaceutical products with superior properties as well as in the development of new, more efficient and low cost production processes for existing products. Materia's catalysts include those from Professor Robert Grubbs at Caltech who won the Nobel Prize for the technology in 2005.

"Materia's technology platform is a powerful tool for the efficient synthesis of novel drug-like compounds," stated Dr. Michael Giardello, Materia's Chief Executive Officer. "We are pleased that our metathesis platform will be used by Merck to enhance its drug discovery and development programs."

About Materia

Materia was founded in 1998 to commercialize olefin metathesis catalyst technology. This market-enabling, Nobel Prize winning, green chemical technology enables chemical compounds to be synthesized with greater efficiency, under less stringent reaction conditions, and with reduced byproducts and hazardous waste. As stated by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences when awarding the 2005 Nobel Prize, "metathesis is an example of how important basic science has been applied for the benefit of man, society, and the environment." For more information, visit: www.materia-inc.com.