Wednesday June 6, 8:32 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: 3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Completes Purchase of Seven
3DP ThermoFluor(R) `Any Target' High-Throughput Screening
Workstations
EXTON, Pa., June 6 /PRNewswire/ --
3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: DDDP - news) today announced that Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:
BMY - news) has completed its purchase of seven ThermoFluor® high-throughput screening workstations.
ThermoFluor® is an automated high-throughput assay system that measures drug binding affinity through changes in the melting
temperature of proteins. ThermoFluor® technology is able to discover leads for almost any target with unknown biological
function, particularly the thousands of new targets being identified through genome sequencing.
``We are pleased that Bristol-Myers Squibb increased its purchase of ThermoFluor® high-throughput screening workstations
to seven from the three originally planned,'' said David C. U'Prichard, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer. ``In addition, we are
pleased that our DiscoverWorks(TM) collaboration, first announced last July, is progressing well and we look forward to
continued progress in the months ahead.''
Dr. U'Prichard noted that 3DP's ThermoFluor® technology helps scientists avoid the traditional bottleneck of target validation
and customized high- throughput screen development, thus potentially cutting months from the drug discovery process.
Bristol-Myers Squibb's purchase of the ThermoFluor® workstations falls under agreements announced in 2000. Under terms
of the agreements, 3DP is using its DiscoverWorks(TM) drug discovery platform, which integrates high- throughput screening,
combinatorial chemistry, chemi-informatics and structure-based drug design, to assist Bristol-Myers Squibb in the discovery
and development of new human drugs for specific biological targets. In the initial three-year term of the research collaboration,
Bristol-Myers Squibb will supply at least 30 biological targets for lead generation by 3DP. 3DP is screening these targets using
its physical library of over 200,000 novel and diverse compounds. Based on hits from the initial screen, smaller ``focused''
libraries will be selected from 3DP's virtual library of more than 2.5 million [ed. later to 2.5 billion] compounds for further rounds of screening. 3DP has
received upfront licensing and technology access fees of $19 million, and Bristol-Myers Squibb has committed research funding
of $14.4 million over the first three years of the collaboration. 3DP is also eligible to receive milestone payments and royalties
on sales of resulting products. Bristol-Myers Squibb's purchase of the ThermoFluor® workstations is in addition to these
amounts.
3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (http://www.3dp.com) is a post- genomics drug discovery company dedicated to
revolutionizing small-molecule discovery. 3DP has developed and integrated a set of proprietary technologies called
DiscoverWorks(TM), which accelerates and improves the drug discovery process and capitalizes on opportunities arising from
human genome sequencing. 3DP technologies can be applied to virtually any disease target, and can produce compounds
suitable for drug development in a more timely and cost- effective manner and with a higher probability of success than
conventional methods. 3DP is using its technologies both to assist collaborators in discovering drug candidates, and to discover
and develop its own drug candidates.
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are ``forward-looking'' statements which involve a high degree of
risk and uncertainty. Such statements are only predictions, and the actual events or results may differ materially from those
projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to differences include, but are not limited
to, risks associated with our new and uncertain technologies, clinical trials and product development, the long and arduous
process of obtaining regulatory approvals, our dependence on existing strategic alliances, our dependence on patents and
proprietary rights, our ability to protect and enforce our patents and proprietary rights, the development and availability of
competitive products or technologies and our ability to attract and retain talented employees and to manage our expansion.
These risks and uncertainties are discussed in the section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission entitled ``Factors Affecting the Company's Prospects.''
SOURCE: 3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
