DANIOLABS SCREENING COMBINATION PRODUCTS FOR COMBINATORX IN INFLAMMATORY

Wednesday 1st of October 2003 8:00

DANIOLABS SCREENING COMBINATION PRODUCTS FOR COMBINATORX IN INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE
THE EFFECTS OF MODULATING MULTIPLE PATHWAYS IN DISEASE MODELS

Cambridge, UK, and Boston US, 15^th October 2003… DanioLabs Ltd, the therapeutics company which models human disease through its zebrafish platform,  and CombinatoRx Inc the US Company which specialises in developing combination products that target multiple disease pathways, announced today a revenue generating agreement in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Under the terms of the agreement, DanioLabs will use their proprietary IBD model to screen compound combinations selected by CombinatoRx that are believed to effect a network of targets involved in IBD

CombinatoRx has discovered multiple novel synergistic combination drug candidates with potential to modulate IBD relevant pathways.  DanioLabs will evaluate these candidates to identify the most effective disease rescuing agent(s) in their zebrafish model of IBD.

Using zebrafish, DanioLabs has created a cost effective, high-throughput, in vivo model of IBD which has been shown to have clinical, pathological and biological relevance to the human disease.   The company also has developed proprietary models in a number of other disease areas including osteoporosis, epilepsy, pain and neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr Paul Goldsmith, Chief Scientific Officer of DanioLabs, said, “Teasing out additive and synergistic effects of multiple compounds requires a high-throughput in vivo model. Our platform allows this. Additionally, the low compound need makes the chemistry as well as the biology very cost effective.”

Dr Peter Elliott, Senior Vice President of Product Development at CombinatoRx added, “We are excited to further evaluate our broad portfolio of novel mechanism combination drugs through this collaboration with DanioLabs using their innovative model system. IBD is characterized by significant unmet clinical need and it is one of our focus areas, in addition to rheumatoid arthritis and asthma, as we advance the CombinatoRx immuno-inflammatory pipeline”.

IBD is a term that covers a variety of diseases including Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease which effect the gastrointestinal tract. These are chronic inflammatory conditions which affect the gut with periods of relapse and remission. There are about 5 million sufferers worldwide. There is currently no cure.

Notes to Editors

About DanioLabs Ltd

DanioLabs is a therapeutics company that uses its world leading phenotype driven drug discovery technologies to identify novel treatments for a variety of human diseases.  A major part of the DanioLabs platform involves the use of zebrafish as an experimental species.  Using these models, the company is able to identify activity of experimental compounds, and to provide the additional evidence relevant to the treatment of the disease needed to progress such compounds cost-effectively through the drug development process. 

DanioLabs build high-throughput disease models that allow 96 well plate format in vivo screening.  As well as working with partners to develop new models in a variety of disease areas and to undertake screening campaigns, the company also use their systems to identify their own novel therapeutics in the specific areas of ophthalmology and neurological disease.  As well as identifying novel use opportunities, the company is also developing chemistry around interesting novel targets. For more information on DanioLabs Ltd, please see www.daniolabs.com.

Email: info@daniolabs.com 

About Combinatorx

CombinatoRx, a privately held pharmaceutical company, is creating new combination medicines that attack disease on multiple fronts. The company has an impressive clinical and preclinical pipeline of novel agents, including treatments in development for cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, and has ongoing research in respiratory, metabolic, and infectious diseases. CombinatoRx invented the industry’s first combination drug discovery platform to generate new medicines, based upon new insights into disease networks, in a broad range of therapeutic areas. Founded in 2000 by leading scientists from Harvard and MIT, the company has raised $60M in venture capital and is executing on its business strategy to rapidly build and commercialize a portfolio of breakthrough products. For further information please visit the CombinatoRx web-site at http://www.combinatorx.com

About Colitis and Crohn’s Disease

Further information on Colitis and Crohn’s disease is available from the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease (NACC), a UK based Charity (www.nacc.org.uk). 
Browse other news from this organisation: Daniolabs

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