Aurora Biosciences Announces Ion Channel Technology Agreement With The R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute and Janssen Research Foundation
--From AOL.-- Cooters
SAN DIEGO, May 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Aurora Biosciences Corporation (Nasdaq: ABSC) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with The R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute ("PRI") and Janssen Research Foundation ("JRF") - both Johnson & Johnson companies (NYSE: JNJ) - in the area of ion channel drug discovery. Aurora will collaborate with PRI and JRF to develop ion channel assays. Aurora will also provide access to other aspects of its ion channel technology platform, including its voltage ion probe reader, the VIPR(TM) system, and its proprietary voltage sensor probes along with licenses to the VIPR technology. In addition, Aurora will supply ongoing scientific and technical support to both companies. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are delighted that PRI and JRF have chosen Aurora's cutting-edge ion channel platform for this key technology acquisition," said Harry Stylli, Ph.D., Aurora's senior vice president, commercial development. "Aurora's leading ion channel discovery solution, which has now been adopted by ten major pharmaceutical companies and one research foundation, greatly facilitates this important area of drug discovery."
Ion channels are considered to be important therapeutic targets for pharmaceutical research, but pose significant challenges for assay development and screening efforts. Aurora's ion channel technology platform, using proprietary voltage sensor dyes and the VIPR system, facilitates rapid generation of assays followed by high-throughput screening of ion channel targets by optically measuring changes in membrane potential in live cells in an automated, 96-well format. Aurora's technology is applicable to the majority of ion channel families, including voltage- and ligand-gated potassium, sodium, calcium, chloride and other channels. Aurora has developed over 25 cell-based ion channel assays in the last three years.
Aurora designs, develops and commercializes advanced drug discovery technologies, services and systems to accelerate the discovery of new medicines. The Company's core technologies include a broad portfolio of proprietary fluorescence assay technologies, including its GeneBLAzer(TM) and VIPR(TM) technologies, its functional genomics GenomeScreen(TM) program, its automated master compound store, the AMCS, and its ultra-high throughput screening system (UHTSS(TM) Platform) and subsystems to miniaturize and automate drug screening and profiling assays derived from those technologies. Aurora technologies have been commercially validated by over 15 major life sciences companies and research organizations, including American Home Products, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Glaxo Wellcome, Genentech, Inc., Eli Lilly & Co., Merck & Co., Inc., NV Organon Laboratories, Pfizer, Inc., and Warner-Lambert Company, in the form of commercialization agreements for discovery services, licenses or systems. For additional information on Aurora's services and products, please contact Sales and Marketing via email at marcom@aurorabio.com.
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are "forward-looking" statements which involve a high degree of technological and competitive risks and uncertainties that exist in the Company's operations and business environment. Such statements include statements regarding the utility and applications of the VIPR system. Such statements are only predictions and the Company's actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to differences include risks associated with updates of the VIPR system, the Company's new and uncertain technology, dependence on patents and proprietary rights and dependence on pharmaceutical and biotechnology collaborations. These factors and others are more fully described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1999, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For additional corporate information, visit the Aurora website at aurorabio.com .
GeneBLAzer(TM), GenomeScreen(TM), UHTSS(TM) and VIPR(TM) are trademarks of Aurora Biosciences Corporation.
SOURCE Aurora Biosciences Corporation
CO: Aurora Biosciences Corporation; The R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute; Janssen Research Foundation; Johnson & Johnson
ST: California
IN: HEA BIO MTC
SU:
05/09/2000 17:00 EDT prnewswire.com |
