Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (``Isis'') (Nasdaq: ISIP - news) announced today its membership in a prestigious consortium of scientists, the Alliance for Cellular Signaling (AFCS), which is focused on understanding all aspects of how cells interact with, or signal, each other in two types of cellular models. Isis' GeneTrove genomics division will provide its expertise in creating and using antisense inhibitors to identify the function of genes and the role they play in cellular interactions, or pathways. AFCS researchers will work to understand the molecules that participate in cellular communication and their processes sufficiently to design a ``virtual cell,'' which would facilitate drug discovery by computer.
Isis is one of only two biotech companies participating directly in the consortium, which is led by Nobel laureate Dr. Alfred Gilman, chairman of pharmacology at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. The AFCS is composed of approximately 50 scientists at 20 universities. Researchers will work from core laboratories at several universities, including the University of California, San Diego; the San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center; UT Southwestern; and the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) in Pasadena, which Isis will directly support.
AFCS has received a $5 million grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), a division of the National Institutes of Health. NIGMS anticipates spending a projected total of $25 million on the project over the course of five years. In addition to the NIH grant, the AFCS is receiving additional funding from pharmaceutical companies and non-profit organizations, giving AFCS $10 million per year in financial resources. Participants include Eli Lilly and Co., Johnson & Johnson, Merck Genome Research Institute, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., Chiron Therapeutics and Aventis, which will each provide about $500,000 per year for the first five years; and the Agouron Institute.
Dr. Melvin Simon, Biaggini Professor of Biology and Chairman of Biology at California Institute of Technology said, ``The Alliance provides scientists a unique opportunity to study the characteristics of specific gene targets and their effect on total cell activities in two types of cells: cardiomyocytes, which are heart cells, and immune cells known as B-cells. Isis' antisense technology is a key tool for our success. It offers a surgical approach of introducing changes to a cell, one gene at a time, allowing us to see the effect on the whole system. The information we collectively produce will be extremely important to the pharmaceutical industry for drug discovery.''
Frank Bennett, Isis' Vice President of Antisense Research, said ``Our participation in this important multidisciplinary research program allows us to work closely with leading scientists on G proteins and other cell-signaling molecules that are potentially important pharmaceutical targets. The discovery of G protein signaling earned Dr. Alfred Gilman and the late Dr. Martin Rodbell the 1994 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine. Additionally, CalTech scientists have identified numerous genes directly involved in the G protein network. We believe that the specificity of antisense and the speed and efficiency of our GeneTrove approach will contribute significantly to the productivity of this project.''
Stanley T. Crooke, Isis' Chairman and CEO said, ``We are pleased to participate in the public advancement of science by providing our proprietary technology to the consortium scientists. Data generated through this collaborative effort will have meaningful impact on the understanding of cardiovascular and immunological diseases. Through our GeneTrove division, Isis is broadly applying our technology to discover and develop important, novel drugs.''
Isis' GeneTrove division has pioneered antisense methods that can rapidly, efficiently and precisely determine the role of essentially any gene within a biological system. GeneTrove can create inhibitors to a particular gene for use in cell culture studies in a matter of days. GeneTrove inhibitors can be used in a broad variety of cell types. Our industry leading expertise in the in vivo application of antisense inhibitors allows evaluation of gene function in animal models of disease. Already, GeneTrove has created inhibitors to hundreds of genes, validated multiple targets and dissected numerous disease pathways. GeneTrove's competitive position is strengthened by Isis' strong antisense patent estate.... |
