Agilent Technologies and Dharmacon to Use Microarrays to Analyze Cellular Effects of RNAi Gene Silencing for Drug Discovery Research

Tuesday June 24, Agilent Technologies and Dharmacon to Use Microarrays to Analyze Cellular Effects of RNAi Gene Silencing for Drug Discovery Research

RNAi Technology Has Potential to Accelerate Drug Discovery and Reduce Costs

PALO ALTO, Calif. and LAFAYETTE, Colo., June 24, 2003 -- Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) and Dharmacon Inc. today announced a research collaboration to use Agilent's microarray and Dharmacon's RNA interference (RNAi) technologies to measure the broader cellular effects of RNAi, or gene silencing. A recent market research report(1) predicts that RNAi technology could reduce the time needed for target validation by up to 50 percent and overall drug development by 15 percent, accelerating the drug discovery process and reducing costs for pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

As part of the collaboration, researchers at Dharmacon plan to silence select genes in a variety of cell systems and then apply Agilent microarray solutions to measure the systemic effects. Agilent researchers will then further analyze the data using the Rosetta Resolver(tm) gene expression data analysis system from Rosetta BioSoftware to assess global effects on gene expression. Agilent and Dharmacon expect to apply the results of the collaboration to develop and optimize methods for use of their technologies in drug discovery research. 

RNAi is a naturally occurring phenomenon in some organisms, but can also be artificially induced using small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to block or "silence" the function of the selected gene. To fully analyze the result of silencing a gene, researchers need to be able to evaluate the effectiveness of the gene silencing and its overall impact on a cell or system. This may be done using microarrays to measure changes in activity of all known genes in the system. 

"Our mutual goal is to define and test new research methodologies integrating RNAi and microarray technologies," said Fran DiNuzzo, vice president and general manager of Agilent's BioReagents, Consumables and Services Operation. "Dharmacon is a leader in RNA synthesis for gene silencing and has developed impressive algorithms for determining what qualifies as highly functional siRNA, achieving high levels of target gene silencing with minimal off-target silencing effects. In collaborating together, we can better define the methods for this kind of research, optimize the workflow and incorporate the right reagents and microarrays needed for successful target validation." 

"Dharmacon's SMART(tm) technologies for guaranteed gene silencing have made us the leader in RNAi products for high throughput research and drug discovery," said William S. Marshall, Ph.D., executive vice president of research and production at Dharmacon. "We are delighted to collaborate with a research products innovator like Agilent to develop the standards and methods that will enable researchers worldwide to move to the next stage -- using RNAi in microarray-based formats to accelerate target validation and drug discovery. We believe that the sensitivity and 'open' nature of Agilent's microarray platform, combined with our market-leading RNAi technologies, will ultimately provide the best solution for the broadest base of customers."

About RNAi

RNAi is an important method for analyzing gene function and identifying new drug targets that uses double-stranded RNA to knock down or silence specific genes. The challenge has been to reliably select a siRNA segment that can efficiently silence the gene without triggering unwanted effects. Dharmacon offers a solution by using proprietary algorithms to select highly functional siRNA sequences and then pooling the best sequences for guaranteed gene knockdown. This siRNA-mediated gene silencing represents a valuable tool that can accelerate critical investigations across a broad range of biomedical and biological research applications.

The Role of RNAi in Drug Target Validation

Most drugs target a specific protein, eliminating or changing its activity in order to improve the health of a patient. In identifying proteins that can serve as drug targets, pharmaceutical and biotech companies go through an extensive process called target validation to verify that they understand the protein's function and its role in related pathways. Frequently, this involves the breeding of "knockouts," usually a strain of mouse in which the protein has been eliminated. This process can take a year or more. The introduction of RNAi into a cell or tissue culture can potentially provide the same information as a knockout experiment at a lower cost and in less time. 

About Dharmacon

Dharmacon, Inc. is the world's leading provider of innovative RNA, RNA-interference research products and related technologies to the life sciences industry. Founded in 1995, Dharmacon discovered and commercialized 2'-ACE®, a novel, highly productive chemical strategy for RNA synthesis. Using its core expertise in chemistry, biology, bioinformatics and production, Dharmacon has pioneered a custom small interfering RNA (siRNA) design service that employs its proprietary SMARTselection(tm) algorithms for maximizing the efficiency of gene silencing, a powerful and increasingly widely-used new technology based on siRNA. The company provides the most reliable and highest quality RNA oligonucleotides and other custom RNA modification options that leverage Dharmacon's proprietary chemistries. Dharmacon also offers amidites, synthesizers, and reagents for in-house synthesis, providing a total solution for RNAi researchers. Dharmacon is based in Lafayette, Colorado. For more informati on, please visit the company's web site at www.dharmacon.com.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is a global technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company's 32,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenue of $6 billion in fiscal year 2002. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements (including, without limitation, statements relating to the expectations of the collaboration, which include (1) Dharmacon's plan to silence select genes in a variety of cell systems and then apply Agilent microarray solutions to measure the systemic effects; (2) Agilent's plans to further analyze the data using the Rosetta Resolver gene expression data analysis system from Rosetta BioSoftware to assess global effects on gene expression; and (3) Agilent and Dharmacon's plans to apply the results of the collaboration to develop and optimize methods for use of their technologies in drug discovery research; and (4) that the combination of Agilent's microarray platform, combined with Dharmacon's market-leading RNAi technologies, will ultimately provide the best solution for the broadest base of customers) that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially from management's current expectations. T hese and other risks are detailed in Agilent's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Oct. 31, 2002, its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Apr. 30, 2003 and its Current Report on Form 8-K filed May 19, 2003. The company assumes no obligation to update the information in this press release.

(1) "RNAi Technologies: Accelerating Target Validation and Discovery," Acumen Sciences, November 2002. Report available at www.acumensciences.com/www/research/index.jsp.

Rosetta Resolver is a U.S. trademark of Rosetta Inpharmatics.

SMART technologies is a trademark of Dharmacon Inc. 

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Further technology, corporate citizenship and executive news is available on the Agilent news site at www.agilent.com/go/news. 

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Victor Truong
Press Relations Associate
Life Science & Chemical Analysis
Agilent Technologies, Inc.

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