QDEL up 3/16 this morning; hope BD news is over for now! More H Pylori news:
Genome Therapeutics and Astra Research Center
Boston Announce First Target From Their H. Pylori
Genome Alliance Has Entered High-Throughput
Screening
GTC Reaches Significant Milestone in Alliance with Astra AB
WALTHAM, Mass., April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Genome Therapeutics Corp ("GTC") and
Astra Research Center Boston today announced that an undisclosed novel target identified in
their Helicobacter pylori genome research alliance entered high-throughput screening for drug
candidates.
GTC's alliance with Astra AB, to identify and develop novel anti- infectives to treat H. pylori,
began in September 1995. Initiation of high- throughput drug screening triggers a research
milestone payment, the third research milestone achieved by GTC in the alliance.
"We are very pleased with the progress of our collaboration with Astra," stated Robert J.
Hennessey, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Genome Therapeutics. "This
milestone demonstrates the extraordinary impact genomics can have on anti-infective drug
discovery, and continues to validate the strength and productivity of the Company's pathogen
genomics program."
H. pylori has been associated with the onset of most peptic ulcers and, increasingly, certain
stomach cancers. Each year in the United States, 500,000 persons develop ulcers, and $7
billion is spent on treating ulcers world-wide.
Genome Therapeutics Corporation is a leader in the field of genomics -- the identification and
functional characterization of genes. The Company's commercial gene discovery strategy is to
identify and characterize human genes associated with major diseases and elucidate bacterial
genes responsible for many serious infectious diseases. Together with its strategic partners, GTC
is using genomic information to develop a new generation of pharmaceuticals.
Astra Research Center Boston (ARCB) is a new drug discovery company which recently was
established in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by the Swedish pharmaceutical company, Astra AB.
The research at ARCB initially will focus on the development of small molecule drugs and
vaccines to improve current therapies for Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium associated with a
number of gastrointestinal diseases and increasingly, with certain stomach cancer. SOURCE
Genome Therapeutics Corp. |
