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Inpharmatica secures extra
funding for its successful collaboration into the discovery of novel proteins
using its PharmaCarta[TM] chemogenomics system
London, UK, 28 August 2003 -- Inpharmatica Ltd ("Inpharmatica or Company"), the selective drug discovery company, announced today that it has extended its two-year collaboration with Serono (VX: SEO and NYSE: SRA), Europe's leading biotechnology company, for a further year. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The two companies entered into the
original collaboration in July 2001. The new extension follows the expansion
of the collaboration announced in January 2003. It provides further funding
for a team of scientists at Inpharmatica to develop and apply the Company's
computational chemogenomics system, PharmaCarta[TM], to the identification of
further novel proteins.
Importantly, the extension results
from the success of the initial collaboration and comes shortly after the
announcement, in June 2003, of Inpharmatica's first milestone payment from
Serono. This payment was for the successful development of a novel secreted
protein identified using PharmaCarta[TM], one of over 150 novel putative
proteins delivered to Serono to date. Under the terms of the extension
agreement, Serono can select an unlimited number of novel proteins from those
identified by Inpharmatica, for clinical development and commercialization.
Commenting on the announcement Dr Malcolm Weir, Chief Executive Officer of Inpharmatica, said:
"Our collaboration with
Serono has gone from strength to strength. The extension announced today
validates both the quality of the work of our scientists and our
PharmaCarta[TM] technology. Inpharmatica is fully committed to pushing the
boundaries of functional genomics and to nurturing our relationships with our
collaborators."
About Inpharmatica: www.inpharmatica.com
Inpharmatica Ltd, the selective
drug discovery company, focuses its discovery efforts upon the selection of
quality drug targets, quality leads that act against those targets and quality
drug candidates, thereby reducing attrition in the drug discovery process.
The Company's flagship technology platform is PharmaCarta[TM], a computational
chemogenomics system. It links genomic and proteomic space with chemistry and
provides a unique approach to hit identification, lead generation and drug
optimization for druggable targets. Biopendium[TM] is an integral part of
PharmaCarta[TM] that is also available to clients as a stand-alone product.
Inpharmatica's platform utilizes the massive computing power of the Company's
2,500- processor compute farm, one of the largest in the world.
Founded in 1998, Inpharmatica's
technology is based on research from Professor Janet Thornton's group at
University College London. Employing approximately 100 staff, Inpharmatica is
headquartered in London where it has its own in-house laboratory facilities.
These laboratory facilities provide experimental validation of in silico
discoveries, enabling Inpharmatica (and its strategic partners) to advance
novel drug targets identified through its application of PharmaCarta[TM] and
to develop novel drugs against those targets. The Company's ADME and chemistry
facilities are located on the Cambridge Science Park and provide support for
its internal discovery programmes as well as contract ADME services.
Inpharmatica operates a hybrid business model with four distinct components: i. Internal discovery programs for long-term value generation;
ii. Application of PharmaCarta[TM]
to research programs of collaborators, generating mid-term value through
research payments, milestone payments and royalties;
iii. Biopendium[TM] licensing to
generate near-term revenues; and
iv. ADME Optimization to generate
near-term revenues and extend the capabilities of PharmaCarta[TM].
These components are outlined further below: Internal Drug Discovery is focused upon discovering, validating and finding leads against highly druggable targets mined from the human genome, and has resulted in the Company filing patents over more than 200 novel proteins to date. The Company's lead discovery program is focused upon the development of 16 novel Nuclear Receptors ("NR's"). NR's are a family of proteins widely considered to be both druggable and of high therapeutic interest. Drugs targeted against NR's generate more than $10bn in sales annually. Inpharmatica's novel NR's represent a more than a 30% increase on those identified in the public domain.
PharmaCarta[TM] is the Company's
knowledge-based chemogenomics technology platform which drives the discovery
process from gene to drug candidate. Inpharmatica applies PharmaCarta[TM] both
in collaboration with third parties and for internal drug discovery. The
Company concluded its first PharmaCarta[TM] collaboration, for the
identification of novel protein therapeutics, with Serono in July 2001, a
collaboration that was expanded in January 2003 and extended in August 2003.
Since then, the Company has concluded further PharmaCarta[TM] collaborations
with Chiron and Galapagos.
Biopendium[TM] is the Company's
proteome annotation resource, accessed by partners through commercial license.
It is the world's most comprehensive annotation resource; enabling rapid high
throughput annotation of large datasets for target prioritization, target
mining and microarray analysis. Inpharmatica's non-exclusive subscription
collaborators include Pfizer, Genentech, Serono, Daiichi and Riken.
Inpharmatica also has a joint venture with Celera to develop a special edition
of the Biopendium[TM] that incorporates Celera's proprietary genomic data (Celera
Edition Biopendium[TM]).
ADME Optimization is the latest
offering from Inpharmatica, providing a further enhancement of PharmaCarta[TM],
and so moving the Company's drug discovery capabilities downstream.
Inpharmatica makes the in silico, in vitro and Lead Optimization
experience of its experienced ADME team available to third parties, such as
other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, on a fee for service basis.
This team is based on the Cambridge Science Park and announced its first deal
with Ionix in August 2003.
For information about Inpharmatica:
Andrew Lloyd Andrew Lloyd & Associates +44 1273 675100 |
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