Dyax Signs 50th Licensee for Phage Display
-- A Widely Used Biological Discovery Tool --
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Dyax Corp. (Nasdaq: DYAX - news) today announced that it has signed the 50th licensee to its phage display patents. Phage display is used in multiple aspects of drug discovery, from validating targets coming from genomics and proteomics to the discovery and development of novel therapeutic compounds including proteins, peptides and antibodies. The 50 licensees under Dyax's patent and technology licensing program consist of leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and major research institutes, including Affymax (GlaxoSmithKline plc), American Home Products Corporation/Wyeth Ayerst Research Division, Amgen Inc., Bayer AG, BioInvent International AB, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Cambridge Antibody Technology, Chiron Corporation, Corvas International, Inc., Crucell N.V., Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cytogen Corporation, Genzyme Corporation, Human Genome Sciences Inc., IGEN International Inc., ImClone Systems Incorporated, MorphoSys AG, New England BioLabs Inc., Novagen Inc., Pharmacia Corporation, Praecis Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute and The Burnham Institute.
According to an independent study on display technologies published in October, 2000 by D&MD Reports of Westborough, MA, the use of phage display has grown significantly in the last decade. In chapter three of the report, author Rathin Das said, ``During the course of the past fifteen years, the field [of phage display] has grown to a formidable status in terms of both improvements of the original technology as well as its applications toward drug discovery and development. Consequently, a large number of academic labs independently or in association with various biotechnology companies in both Europe and the USA are utilizing exclusively phage display as the core technology for the rapid identification of peptide, protein and antibody as therapeutic candidates or for discovering biological target molecules.''
``Continued growth in our licensing program, highlighted by the signing of our 50th licensee, has made phage display a widely used biological discovery tool in the industry,'' said Henry Blair, Chairman and CEO of Dyax. ``Our phage display licensing program provides Dyax with steady revenues from signing fees and annual maintenance payments. In addition, many of our license agreements include significant product development milestone payments and royalty revenues on commercialized products.''
Dyax's patented phage display technology is a versatile, high-throughput discovery platform with broad applications in research and development. Phage display technology permits scientists to rapidly identify compounds that bind to targets of interest. It is a powerful method for the discovery of lead compounds such as peptides or proteins, including antibodies and enzymes. Dyax has been receiving increased interest in phage display as a result of genomics and proteomics efforts in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Phage display can be a highly efficient tool for target validation and the development of high-throughput screening assays.
Dyax owns pioneering patents in the field of phage display, including 4 issued US Patents. Dyax's patents are available for non-exclusive licensing in the fields of therapeutic research or therapeutic products, in vitro antibody diagnostics and phage display research kits.
Dyax Corp. is a biopharmaceutical company that has developed and patented phage display technology with applications in the discovery and development of a broad range of compounds for the treatment and diagnosis of diseases and for the purification of biopharmaceuticals and drugs. Through the use of phage display technology, Dyax's scientists, collaborators and licensees discover peptides and proteins, including human antibodies, which bind tightly to specific molecular targets. The Company, through a subsidiary, also develops, manufactures and sells chromatography separations systems and products under the Biotage trade name. |
