CRA & ARQL Could ARQL be munched?????
This news item and Peter pointing out ARQL raised the question. Who might CRA target? From listenting to an ARQL presentation they clearly are a chemistry company.
Celera mulls purchase of chemistry company
biz.yahoo.com
NEW YORK, June 1 (Reuters) - Celera Genomics Group, (NYSE:CRA - news) a gene information company that was instrumental in mapping the human genome, said it is considering buying a chemistry company as it strives to develop cancer drugs and diagnostic tests.
``We're making a lot of decisions in terms of whether we're going to build chemistry from scratch or buy a chemistry company,'' said Craig Venter, Celera's chief scientific officer, in a meeting on Friday with Reuters reporters and editors in New York.
Venter declined to specify which companies he is looking at as potential acquisitions.
Celera said it is interested in possibly acquiring a chemistry company to complement its expertise in gene sequencing, its strong suit, which involves identification of the chemical pairs that make up genetic material.
Other companies have also recently expanded their drug-discovery ability by buying chemistry companies.
In April, drug-maker Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NasdaqNM:VRTX - news) agreed to buy Aurora Biosciences Corp. (NasdaqNM:ABSC - news), a leader in the hot area of high-throughput screening. Aurora's equipment can rapidly screen millions of synthetic compounds almost simultaneously to identify which ones affect biological targets and might therefore be drug candidates.
But Celera, based in Rockville, Maryland, wants to expand beyond gene sequencing into drug discovery, which would require greater emphasis on chemistry -- the study and application of the molecular makeup of cells and compounds and how they interact.
The company currently makes money by selling its databases of gene information to academic institutions and drug makers. Last year, it posted revenue of about $40 million, a figure analysts expect to double this year. Celera expects the database business to become profitable next year, although Wall Street does not expect the company itself to become profitable for years.
Celera is now concentrating on developing diagnostic tests for a range of diseases and treatments for a variety of cancers, which it aims to partner with companies already involved in making drugs and diagnostics.
The company said it has identified several biological targets linked to possible diseases, but has yet to develop any compounds that could be used as possible drugs against the targets.
Venter said it is unlikely Celera will have any drug candidates in clinical trials within the next two years, but said the company could have diagnostic tests in trials by then.
Celera, a unit of Applera Corp., has about $1 billion in cash, Venter said, adding that it was adequate to support the company's research spending for eight to 10 years. |
