Welcome to the website of Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc. I thank you for taking the time to visit and learn more about our Company. It is an honor and a great pleasure for me to introduce to you our exciting accomplishments in the drive to discover new therapeutics to improve human health.

Founded in December 1994, Quark devoted its early years to developing its innovative technology platform for identification of novel functional target genes and proteins, the “BiFAR” technology. The basic concept, patented by Quark, of high throughput gene inactivation combined with microarray detection of the functional genes responsible for the occurrence of phenotypes of interest, was at that time revolutionary. With the advent of siRNA technology, Quark’s approach is rapidly becoming the technology of choice for functional studies industry-wide. We have applied our BiFAR platform in gene discovery programs in serious diseases with significant unmet medical needs, often in collaboration with large pharmaceutical partners. Today we are harvesting the fruits of the innovative targets and concepts we identified.

With the discovery and progress in RNAi technology, Quark focused its drug discovery and development efforts on this exciting class of novel drugs. We designed siRNA compounds that inhibit our proprietary targets and concepts and moved them forward into clinical development. We developed our siRNA technology platform: design, chemical structure of molecules and delivery into cells of interest and we continue to progress our science.

I am now pleased to highlight the milestones we recently achieved.

Clinical programs

We have recently announced that our partner, Pfizer Inc, initiated patient dosing in a Phase II trial evaluating PF-4523655 (RTP801i-14) in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). The successful commencement of the trial triggered a milestone payment to Quark from Pfizer as part of the companies’ Global Licensing Agreement. The Phase II prospective, randomized, dose ranging study is evaluating the safety and efficacy of PF-4523655 versus laser therapy in 160 DME patients at multiple centers worldwide. PF-4523655 was designed to inhibit Quark’s proprietary target RTP801, a gene involved in abnormal blood vessel development and leakage in the eye. Under the Global Licensing Agreement, Pfizer has exclusive development rights to siRNA-mediated therapies that inhibit RTP801 for ophthalmic and non-ophthalmic indications, while Quark is eligible for development and sales based milestone payments.

Our development team actively collaborates with Pfizer in performing the clinical trials, supporting Pfizer globally and conducting the trial on behalf of Pfizer in several centers in Israel.

We are progressing the phase I/IIa clinical trial of AKIi-5 for prevention of acute kidney injury in patients undergoing major cardiac surgery. The initiation of the trial represented a major milestone for the Company and indeed the siRNA therapeutics field by being the first siRNA drug administered systemically in a human clinical trial. The phase I/IIa study is currently ongoing in several centers in the USA and Switzerland, and others are about to be opened in the USA, Israel and Switzerland. In June 2008 the US FDA approved to Quark an IND for the drug candidate DGFi, having the same active ingredient, for treatment and prevention of delayed graft function in kidney transplantation patients.

Preclinical pipeline utilizing siRNA structure developed by Quark

Quark has a broad pipeline of siRNA drug candidates based a novel structure developed internally. We expect to utilize the structure to develop additional RNAi drug candidates without in-licensing any structure-related technology patents. Our IGNi, which is currently being evaluated in preclinical studies as a neuroprotective agent for eye diseases, is the first drug candidate to utilize the novel structure developed by Quark.

Financial

In April 2008 we announced the closing of a private financing totaling an aggregate of $27 million. The major investors are Investment vehicles of SBI Asset Management Co., Ltd. and SBI Investment Co., Ltd., subsidiaries of the prestigious SBI Holding Inc. We plan to use the funds to expand our clinical programs and progress the clinical

Our strengths include the dedication of our employees, the quality of our science and the depth of our development pipeline. Working to the best of our abilities, it is our intention to bring new novel medicines to serious diseases, to build a profitable business and maintain our unique work environment that values innovation, integrity, and achievement.



Daniel Zurr
CEO