Rexahn, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, announced that a European patent (EP 1206261) has been granted for the treatment of behavioural diseases with its leading CNS drug candidate, RX-10100.

RX-10100 is a unique chemical compound that, based on preclinical studies, supports the treatment of anxiety, depression, and other behavioural diseases. The European patent of RX-10100 covers the UK, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, France Germany, Spain, Switzerland/Lichtenstein, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, and Sweden.

There are already four US patents for RX-10100 and its related compounds for the treatment of anxiety, depression, sexual dysfunction, and neuroprotection. Additionally, several US and foreign patent applications are pending for these compounds.

Chairman and CEO of Rexahn, Chang Ahn, PhD, said, "This patent is a very important step in the execution of our strategy to be a global provider of pharmaceutics. In the future, the Company will also be pursuing patents for additional indications treated by RX-10100, based on its neuroprotective abilities."

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 121 million people globally suffer from depression. Nearly 6 per cent of all men and 10 per cent of women worldwide will experience a depressive episode in any given year. In Europe, problems with mental health account for almost 20 per cent of the burden of all disease. Nearly one in four people in the region suffer.

RX-10100 is scheduled to enter Phase IIa clinical trials in early 2007.