Trimeris, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, announced that the company and its development partner, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Roche) have mutually agreed to amend their Research Agreement to extend the Research Term by additional two years from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2008.

The extension of the Research Term governs the joint research efforts by Trimeris and Roche on Next Generation Fusion Inhibitor (NGFI) peptides created under the Research Agreement, which was first signed by the parties in 2000. Research, development and commercialization costs for the NGFI programme will continue to be split equally by Trimeris and Roche, as will any profits from the worldwide sale of products covered under the amended Research Agreement.

The development work covered under the Research Agreement has focused on two distinct peptide classes, exemplified by TRI-999 and TRI-1144 as NGFI candidates. Based on recently completed preclinical studies, TRI-1144 met the criteria established by Trimeris and Roche for further development and is being advanced as the lead preclinical NGFI candidate. TRI-999 did not satisfy these criteria and will not be further developed.

"The collaboration will continue focusing its efforts on conducting further studies with TRI-1144, including the development of extended release formulations for this promising compound in order to meet our desired product profile," commented Dr. Dani P. Bolognesi, Chief Scientific Officer and Vice Chairman of Trimeris.

"We are pleased to extend our productive working relationship with Trimeris on the NGFI programme," said Jonathan Knowles, President of Global Research at Roche. "Bringing innovative treatments to HIV patients is an important goal for Roche".