Robert, bought some Cra @ 90...hoping for a come back.
>Tokyo, March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Takeda Chemical Industries Co. shares rose 2.4 percent after Japan's biggest drugmaker said it'll use genome databases owned by PE Corp.'s Celera Genomics unit to develop new drugs.
Shares in the Osaka-based drugmaker gained 170 yen to 7,300, after having risen to 7,560, a record high. Some 1.9 million shares changed hands, 7 percent more than the daily average for the past three months.
The five-year contract to access the database for human, mouse and other genome information owned by Celera Genomics unit, a leader in the race to finish mapping the human genetic code, is expected to boost Takeda's research ability, which is already superior to that of its Japanese rivals, analysts said.
``The company is probably aiming at speeding up its research and development by purchasing the data,' said Yasuhiro Nakazawa, an analyst at Tokyo-Mitsubishi Securities Co. ``The move shows (Takeda) is the most advanced in genome drug creation in Japan.'
Takeda is the first Japanese drugmaker to gain an access to Celera's database of genomes, a complete set of chromosomes and the associated genes. Outside of Japan, Amgen Inc., Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc., Novartis AG and Pfizer Inc. have similar contracts with Celera.
The contract, whose terms weren't disclosed, will allow Takeda to access five of Celera's databases and its ``bioinformatics' tools to accelerate research on the human genetic code, Celera said.
``It's important for a drugmaker to gain an access to advanced software and information technology to speed up its research,' said Tomokazu Kitamura, an analyst at Paribas Capital Markets Ltd. ``Takeda is stepping up its sophisticated research division.'
The five Celera databases Takeda is gaining access to are: the sequences of human, fruit fly and mouse genes; sets of human genes with links to associated biological and disease information; and sets of single nucleotide polymorphisms -- the major form of DNA variation responsible for human traits, certain illnesses and drug safety and efficacy.
Celera said in January that it had sequenced 90 percent of the human genome code. Celera said it expects to finish mapping the code by midyear. |
