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ATHERSYS ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF JOINT VENTURE WITH ELAN
-- Alliance Will Commercialize Therapeutic Protein for Treatment of AIDS-associated muscle wasting --
Cleveland, February 15, 2000 - Athersys Inc., today announced that it has formed a joint venture with Elan Corporation, plc, to develop and commercialize an undisclosed therapeutic protein. The joint venture will combine Athersys' RAGE (Random Activation of Gene Expression) ™ technology with an Elan drug delivery system. Under the terms of the agreement, Elan has made a significant equity investment in Athersys; no further financial details were disclosed.
This joint venture takes advantage of the Athersys RAGE-KTP™ technology, a novel protein expression technology that enables commercial scale production of therapeutic proteins in human cell lines by activating high level expression of the endogenous gene that encodes the protein of interest. Athersys is currently developing several proteins produced using the RAGE-KTP approach.
"This joint venture combines Elan's experience with drug delivery systems with the RAGE technology's protein production capabilities," said Dr. Gil Van Bokkelen, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Athersys.
The RAGE technology enables the creation of production cell lines without the use of standard recombinant DNA methodologies to clone and isolate a gene in order to achieve high level protein expression. In contrast to alternative technologies, such as cDNA expression cloning, RAGE does not require advance knowledge of gene sequence, structure, or typical expression pattern in order to activate expression of a given gene. Rather, the RAGE approach is used to randomly activate genes throughout the genome, ultimately resulting in the creation of comprehensive, genome-wide protein expression libraries. In this way, we believe the RAGE technology can be used to activate and express protein from virtually any gene in the human genome, irrespective of its typical expression pattern in the human body. High-throughput screening methods are then applied to rapidly detect the cell expressing the protein of interest, which are then expanded in cell culture to generate a production cell line.
Athersys is a functional genomics and biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development and application of novel research tools and therapeutic products. The Company's RAGE (Random Activation of Gene Expression)™ technology platform is a novel gene expression system that enables the Company to rapidly survey the entire human genome for proteins with a specific biological function and to quickly and accurately correlate protein function with gene structure. Athersys believes RAGE has powerful applications in functional genomics, generation of validated drug targets, development of protein therapeutics and gene discovery. The Company's SMC (Synthetic Microchromosome) technology platform enables the Company to create synthetic human chromosomes, which are being developed as a novel approach to gene therapy. Athersys is establishing a broad portfolio of proprietary technologies that positions the Company to develop therapeutic products, both internally and with strategic partners, to treat significant and life-threatening diseases. This press release and further information on Athersys, Inc. can be found on the World Wide Web at: www.Athersys.com. |
