Friday October 13, 7:18 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Lexicon Genetics Incorporated
Lexicon Genetics Sues Deltagen for Patent
Infringement Under Four Additional United States
Patents
THE WOODLANDS, Texas, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Lexicon Genetics Incorporated (Nasdaq: LEXG - news) announced
today that it has filed a second lawsuit for patent infringement against Deltagen, Inc. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court
for the District of Delaware, alleges that Deltagen is willfully infringing the claims of four United States patents under which
Lexicon holds exclusive licenses. In the complaint, Lexicon is seeking unspecified damages from Deltagen, as well as injunctive
relief.
United States Patents Nos. 5,464,764, 5,487,992, 5,627,059, and 5,631,153 describe technology developed in the
laboratory of Dr. Mario Capecchi at the University of Utah and broadly cover methods and vectors for using positive- negative
selection for producing gene targeted, or ``knockout,'' cells and animals. Earlier this year, Lexicon filed a lawsuit alleging that
Deltagen has willfully infringed U.S. Patent No. 5,789,215, which covers the use of isogenic DNA technology -- a technology
that is also critically important for the efficient commercial-scale production of knockout mice using homologous recombination.
Lexicon uses both of these patented technologies for producing knockout mice as part of its internal drug discovery programs
as well as to support Lexicon's corporate partnerships. In addition to the patented technologies that are being asserted against
the defendant, Lexicon has patented a next-generation, high-throughput knockout mouse technology that it has used to create
the OmniBank® library of more than 95,000 knockout mouse clones.
``We believe Deltagen's products and services demonstrate use of and dependence upon the technology covered by these
additional patents, as well as the patented technology that is the subject of our original infringement suit against Deltagen,''
stated Arthur T. Sands, M.D., Ph.D., Lexicon Genetics' President and Chief Executive Officer. ``We intend to enforce our
rights under these patents and continue our strategy of building and protecting our substantial intellectual property portfolio in
functional genomics.''
Lexicon's sublicensees under the newly-asserted patents include Pfizer, Inc., Roche Bioscience, Schering-Plough Research
Institute, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Genentech, Inc., Amgen Inc., Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc., American Home
Products, DuPont Pharmaceuticals Company and Biogen Inc. All sublicenses are for internal-use only and may not be
extended to cover infringing animals and cells produced by commercial service providers such as Deltagen. In order to make
this important technology widely available to the academic research community, Lexicon has offered to grant free
non-commercial, research-use only sublicenses to academic and non-profit research institutions.
Lexicon Genetics Incorporated is a leader in defining the functions of genes for drug discovery using large-scale knockout
mouse technology. Complementary to its gene-specific custom knockout technology, Lexicon has invented high-throughput
genome-wide gene trapping technology to discover thousands of genes and expand its OmniBank® library of tens of thousands
of knockout mouse clones. The Company uses an integrated platform of functional genomic technologies to accelerate
large-scale analysis of mammalian gene function for drug discovery. Lexicon's Internet exchange, www.lexgen.com, enables
researchers worldwide to access the OmniBank® library and form collaborations with Lexicon to discover pharmaceutical
products based on genes and knowledge of their functions. Lexicon has established drug discovery collaborations with
Abgenix, Inc. and Arena Pharmaceuticals, a LexVision(TM) collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, and functional
genomics and OmniBank alliances with many pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including American Home
Products, The R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute of Johnson & Johnson, Pharmacia Corp., Boehringer
Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, N.V. Organon, DuPont Pharmaceuticals and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., as well as leading
academic institutions worldwide. Additional Company information is available at www.lexicon-genetics.com.
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are ``forward-looking'' statements as defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking
statements due to the risks and uncertainties described in Lexicon's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In
particular, the legal proceedings described in this press release are subject to risks and uncertainties, including risks and
uncertainties related to patent law, Lexicon's ability to enforce its patents and proprietary rights, the outcome and expense of
litigation and other factors described in Lexicon's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company disclaims
any obligations to update the statements in this press release.
Lexicon Genetics Contacts:
Lance K. Ishimoto, J.D., Ph.D.
Vice President, Intellectual Property
Lexicon Genetics Incorporated
281/364-0100
lkishimoto@lexgen.com
Doug MacDougall
Libby Wright
Feinstein Kean Healthcare
617/577-8110
dmacdougall@fkhealth.com
SOURCE: Lexicon Genetics Incorporated |
