scrapbook for stuff relating to half-life extension, PEGylation, inhibition of immunogenicity, etc.
signalsmag.com
As an example, Mayer pointed to HGS' recent acquisition of
Principia Pharmaceutical Corp., completed in September 2000. "We
acquired it with stock [$120 million], but we knew we had to invest
[money] in the technology to move ahead quickly." And, it's done just
that.
Principia's forte is its recombinant albumin fusion technology, by
which therapeutic proteins are genetically fused to albumin,
prolonging their circulation in the bloodstream. And HGS has already
found the technology extremely useful in its own R&D programs: It's
filed one IND (albuferon for treating HCV) and is ready to file a
second one (albumin-hGH for growth hormone deficiencies),
according to Mayer. He added that HGS will also employ the albumin
fusion technology in its peptide-drug collaboration with Dyax Corp.
It's become such an integral part of the business that HGS is also
moving Principia from Norristown, PA to Rockville this summer.
Going forward, Mayer said, "We'll continue to seek to acquire rights
to new products and technologies," probably with equity rather than
cash. |
