Sangamo sees partnerships ahead
By Stephanie O'Brien,
CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 7:35 PM ET Sep 6, 2000
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NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Sangamo BioSciences is on track to form three more "gene tools" partnerships by the end of the year, as part of its strategy to generate revenue from several sources.
Edward Lanphier, Sangamo's (SGMO: news, msgs) chief executive officer, said the company is in a strong position to capitalize on demand for genomics-based drug discovery technology. Sangamo's technology platform is based on zinc finger DNA binding protein transcription factors, which allow the rapid identification and regulation of any gene. That, Lanphier says, is of great value to drug makers, who are in a high-stakes competition to shorten the time and improve the precision with which they identify potential drug candidates.
Lanphier said Sangamo has an advantage over competitors because its technology allows researchers to evaluate and regulate a gene in the context of disease, rather than identify putative targets. Sangamo's technology allows it to sidestep certain patent- infringement worries, since it doesn't target genes whose functions are already known, Lanphier also said.
The technology "revolves around the whole idea of being able to turn on and turn off genes," Lanphier said. "We can build it to recognize any gene sequence we want," he said. Sangamo's gene-tools technology can help bridge the gap between the ability to sequence genes and knowledge of their function, allowing companies to narrow the field of potential drug candidates, he said.
To date, Sangamo has signed close to 20 partnerships with large drug companies, such as Pfizer(PFE: news, msgs), SmithKline Beecham (SBH: news, msgs)and Johnson & Johnson. (JNJ: news, msgs) Lanphier said he expects to announce three more by year-end. He also said he sees more collaborations with biotech companies, as they compete with larger drug companies in the race to develop new treatments.
Sangamo also has plans to develop genes as therapeutics. Lanphier said he'll present new data, still in the pre-clinical stage, on potential treatments for cardiovascular disease and cancer at the NewsMakers in the Biotech Industry conference in New York on Thursday. The company is also working on treatments for infectious diseases.
Lanphier also said he expects to form partnerships in diagnostics and agriculture in 2001.
Sangamo shares on Wednesday fell $5.06 to $42.69 amid weakness in the biotech sector. |
