Wednesday January 26, 7:31 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Cell Genesys, Inc.
Cell Genesys Licenses Retroviral Gene Delivery
Technology to Clontech
FOSTER CITY, Calif., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Cell Genesys, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEGE - news) today announced that the
company has nonexclusively licensed certain retroviral gene delivery technology to Clontech Laboratories, Inc., a wholly owned
subsidiary of Becton Dickinson and Company. Clontech currently markets research kits with such technology, to companies
and other institutions for research purposes including their use in genomics-based drug discovery. Under the license, Cell
Genesys will receive royalties on worldwide sales of these kits and any future products employing Cell Genesys' proprietary
retroviral gene delivery technology. Additionally, customers of Clontech who intend to market products arising from research
using these kits will need to obtain an additional license to this technology from Cell Genesys prior to product
commercialization. Specific financial terms relating to the license agreement between Cell Genesys and Clontech were not
disclosed.
''The new license agreement with Clontech represents yet another example of how Cell Genesys can generate value from its
broad base of technology and intellectual property in areas outside of our business focus,'' stated Stephen A. Sherwin, M.D.,
chairman and chief executive officer of Cell Genesys. ''Of particular importance is that the Clontech products covered by the
license demonstrate the use of our gene delivery technology in such diverse fields as genomics-based drug discovery, in addition
to their use in gene therapy.''
Under the terms of the agreement, Clontech will be granted a nonexclusive license to U.S. Patent 5,858,740 which covers the
kat(TM) retroviral gene delivery system developed by Cell Genesys scientists. Under the license, Cell Genesys will receive
royalties on worldwide sales of Clontech's EcoPack-293 and AmphoPack-293 Packaging Cell Line Kits, as well as future
products that employ kat(TM) technology. In addition, if Clontech's customers pursue commercial applications arising from the
research use of these products, a commercial license to kat(TM) from Cell Genesys will be required.
The new agreement with Clontech is consistent with Cell Genesys' strategy of licensing the company's vector technologies
outside of Cell Genesys' business focus. During the past eighteen months, Cell Genesys signed deals relating to its vector
technologies with five different companies. These collaborations include transactions in which Cell Genesys is reimbursed for
providing gene delivery technologies to other companies with gene therapy product opportunities within their portfolio as well as
transactions in which Cell Genesys acquires commercial rights to therapeutic genes owned or discovered by other companies.
Examples of the former type of transaction include agreements with Collateral Therapeutics, Inc. in cardiovascular gene
therapy, EntreMed, Inc. in cancer gene therapy and Pharmacia & Upjohn in the field of animal health. Examples of the latter
type of transaction include a collaboration with Rigel, Inc. providing access to genes for cancer, as well as an earlier agreement
with Mitotix, Inc., which provides Cell Genesys with exclusive rights to the gene therapy applications of p27/p16 cell cycle
inhibitor genes in the fields of cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Successful gene therapy depends to a great extent on the vector systems or gene delivery vehicles used to transfer genes into
cells. Cell Genesys has four different viral vector systems and is using this technology ''toolbox'' to capture multiple product
opportunities. Viral vectors have demonstrated the ability to deliver genes to multiple cell types with substantially higher levels of
gene expression and efficiency compared with non-viral vectors. The company's proprietary vector technologies include
adeno-associated viral (AAV), adenoviral, lentiviral and retroviral vectors engineered to provide safe, efficient, long-term gene
expression. Cell Genesys' patent portfolio includes issued or granted patents for each of these gene delivery systems. Cell
Genesys currently has one of the largest patent portfolios in the gene therapy field including approximately 220 issued or
granted patents and 335 patent applications pending.
Cell Genesys is focused on the development and commercialization of gene therapies to treat major, life-threatening diseases
including cancer and cardiovascular disease. The company is conducting two multicenter Phase II human clinical trials for its
GVAX® cancer vaccine in prostate cancer and plans to initiate a multicenter Phase I/II trial of GVAX® vaccine in lung cancer.
Preclinical stage programs include gene therapy for cancer, hemophilia, cardiovascular disorders and Parkinson's disease. Cell
Genesys' assets outside gene therapy include its approximately 19 percent ownership of Abgenix, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABGX -
news) and the company's licensing program in gene activation technology. For additional information, please visit the company's
web site at www.cellgenesys.com.
Clontech Laboratories, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Becton Dickinson and Company, develops, manufactures and
markets products for life science research. The company's products enable scientists to identify genes, study how cells are
regulated by genes and search for drugs that can treat diseases. The company has a portfolio of over 1,500 products that allow
scientists to perform academic research and drug discovery more rapidly and effectively. Their products are sold primarily to
scientists within government entities, academic institutions and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
Statements made herein, other than statements of historical fact, including statements about the company's collaborations and
licenses with Clontech and other partners and potential partners, marketability of potential products and potential royalties from
Clontech and other collaborators' sales and therapies and nature of product pipelines are forward-looking statements and are
subject to a number of uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made, including risks
associated with the success of collaborations and licenses with Clontech and others. For information about these and other risks
which may affect Cell Genesys, please see the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated March 31, 1999 as well as Cell
Genesys' reports on Form 10-Q and 8-K and other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
CONTACT: Jennifer Cook Williams, Manager, Corporate Communications of Cell Genesys, 650-425-4542.
SOURCE: Cell Genesys, Inc.
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