Monday February 7, 9:06 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Genzyme Molecular Oncology
Genzyme Molecular Oncology Achieves Milestones
Totaling $3 Million in January 2000
- p53 Tumor Suppressor Gene Milestone Met, SAGE(TM) License Renewed -
FRAMINGHAM, Mass., Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Genzyme Molecular Oncology (Nasdaq: GZMO - news) today
announced that it has achieved partnering milestones which will generate a total of $3 million of revenue. The income is
comprised of a milestone payment from Schering-Plough Corporation and a license fee upon the renewal of a SAGE licensing
agreement by the Parke-Davis Division of the Warner-Lambert Company.
The milestone payment from Schering-Plough was triggered by Schering-Plough advancing its p53 tumor suppressor gene in
ovarian cancer clinical trials. In October 1998, Genzyme Molecular Oncology licensed its rights to the p53 gene to
Schering-Plough for use in gene therapy. Under the terms of this agreement, Genzyme Molecular Oncology has the potential to
receive royalties on product sales associated with Schering-Plough's development and commercialization of a p53 gene therapy
product.
Parke-Davis has renewed its license to the SAGE differential gene expression technology for an additional year. Additional
revenue may be received during 2000 based on Parke-Davis' usage of the SAGE technology.
''We have had a very strong financial start to 2000. The $3 million we achieved in January is approximately two-thirds of what
our total revenues were in 1999,'' said Gail Maderis, president, Genzyme Molecular Oncology. ''We are pleased with the
progress Schering-Plough has made in its p53 clinical program. p53 gene therapy represents the first therapeutic from which we
could receive revenues in the form of royalties.''
Maderis continued, ''SAGE is an important tool in drug discovery as pharmaceutical companies strive to develop
next-generation therapies. SAGE provides essential information regarding the role of genes in disease, allowing researchers to
take information from the Human Genome Project to the next step in gene-based drug development.''
Background on the p53 Gene
The p53 gene functions as an important tumor suppressor that regulates cell growth. In more than 50 percent of human cancers,
the p53 gene is functionally deficient.
Genzyme Molecular Oncology obtained certain therapeutic and diagnostic rights to the p53 gene through its 1997 acquisition of
PharmaGenics, Inc., a privately-held genomics company which had previously licensed these rights from the Johns Hopkins
University.
Under the terms of the 1998 agreement with Schering-Plough, Genzyme Molecular Oncology has the potential to receive more
than $30 million in additional patent, product development, and sales milestone fees.
Background On SAGE
SAGE is a powerful analytical tool which can be used in a wide variety of applications such as identifying disease-related genes,
analyzing the effects of drugs on tissues, and providing insight into disease pathways. SAGE is an integral part of Genzyme
Molecular Oncology's therapeutic discovery efforts with particular emphasis on the identification of novel tumor antigens and
inhibitors of angiogenesis.
In addition to the license to Parke-Davis, Genzyme Molecular Oncology has signed SAGE service and license agreements with
numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies including Bayer, Novartis Agricultural Discovery Institute Inc., and
Ontogeny. Genzyme Molecular Oncology has also licensed certain SAGE data to Affymetrix and Compugen, Ltd.
The power and unique capability of SAGE was demonstrated last year, when researchers from the Johns Hopkins University
analyzed 3.5 million transcripts of normal and cancer tissue, including millions of SAGE transcripts. Of the transcripts identified
by SAGE, 46 percent represent new genes not present in existing databases. A summary of the extensive SAGE data was
published in the article ''Analysis of Human Transcriptomes'' in the December 1999 issue of Nature Genetics (vol. 23, pp.
287-288).
SAGE was invented by a group of researchers led by Kenneth Kinzler, Ph.D. of the Johns Hopkins University and Bert
Vogelstein, M.D. of the Johns Hopkins University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The commercial application of the
technology is exclusively licensed to Genzyme Molecular Oncology.
Genzyme Molecular Oncology is developing a new generation of cancer products focusing on cancer vaccines and
angiogenesis inhibitors. It is shaping these new therapies through the integration of its gene discovery, gene therapy,
small-molecule drug discovery, and protein therapeutic efforts.
A division of Genzyme Corporation, Genzyme Molecular Oncology has its own common stock intended to reflect its economic
value and track its performance.
This press release contains forward-looking statements about potential payments by Schering-Plough and Parke-Davis under
their agreements with Genzyme Molecular Oncology. Actual payments may differ materially based on many factors, including
without limitation the results of Schering-Plough's efforts to develop and commercialize a p53 gene therapy product, the timing
and content of decisions made by the FDA and other regulatory authorities, the ability to obtain and maintain patent coverage
for intellectual property covered by the Schering-Plough agreement, the availability of reimbursement from third-party payers
for gene therapy products, market acceptance and the competitor environment for any p53 gene therapy product that may be
successfully developed by Schering-Plough, and Parke-Davis' actual usage of the SAGE technology.
SAGE(TM) is a trademark of Genzyme Corporation. All rights reserved.
Genzyme's releases are on the World Wide Web at genzyme.com. They are also available from Genzyme's
fax-on-demand service at 800-436-1443 within the United States or 201-521-1080 outside the United States.
SOURCE: Genzyme Molecular Oncology |
