Auritec Pharmaceuticals and Destum Partners, Inc. - Corporate Development Initiatives

Santa Monica, CA, December 15, 2010

Auritec Pharmaceuticals, a privately held drug development company focused on sustained release delivery of therapeutics, announces the selection of Destum Partners, Inc. to identify, evaluate, and secure strategic partnerships for its Plexis and Versa drug delivery platforms.

 “The Management Team and Board of Directors of Auritec carefully evaluated all available options, and believe that the experience, industry focus, and the impressive track record of Destum Partners are ideally suited to meet our strategic partnering objectives”, stated Thomas Smith, CEO of Auritec Pharmaceuticals. Partners has completed a compelling analysis of the current market potential for these sustained release drug delivery technologies and is quickly moving forward with this opportunity.

About Auritec Pharmaceuticals

Auritec Pharmaceuticals, Inc. based in Santa Monica and Pasadena, CA, is a R&D company specializing in innovative, extended release drug delivery systems.  Auritec was founded by Thomas J. Smith, MD, who has been granted 9 INDs and 2 NDAs throughout his pharmaceutical career in sustained release drug delivery. Dr Smith is joined on Auritec's management team by Gary Ransom, a seasoned international business executive, who focuses on strategy, marketing and business development.

Auritec’s Plexis™ technology is an innovative, polymer-based, proprietary platform technology for sustained release of drugs given by injection.  Plexis™ combines a membrane based, diffusion-driven release mechanism with drug particle sizing large enough to allow high drug loading, but small enough to be injected.  Plexis™ combines the benefits of linearization of release with those of injectability.

Auritec’s Versa™ technology is an implantable drug delivery platform that is responsible for two FDA approved products.  It is based on a core of solid drug, coated with a semi-permeable polymer.

Auritec has developed a novel approach to extended release drug delivery with implications so far for indications including schizophrenia, Parkinson’s Disease, arthritis, herpes and HIV/AIDS. Auritec’s primary objective is to develop and test the use of its Plexis and Versa platforms in a wide range of drug classes, and subsequently license the technology to key partners to continue development, trials and eventual commercialization. Auritec has been previously funded by numerous NIH grants and their IP estate includes worldwide granted and pending patents.

About Destum Partners

Based in Charlotte, NC, Destum Partners, Inc. is a boutique advisory and consulting firm designed to effectively meet the analytics and partnering demands of the biopharmaceutical and life sciences sectors. Destum serves an exclusive clientele dedicated to pushing the boundaries of technology innovation to improve the quality of life of humanity. Their clients range from multinational pharmaceutical corporations to private early stage biotechnology companies.

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 For more information about this opportunity, or to schedule an interview, please contact: Jason Laffin at jlaffin@destumpartners.com. For additional information about Destum Partners please go to our web site at www.destumpartners.com.