I'll be out of here before the ARNA CC, so I'll have to make do with the replay when I get back Monday. Meanwhile, two BLUE H stocks make a deal:
>>CHICAGO and SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- MediChem Life Sciences (Nasdaq: MCLS - news) and Rigel Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: RIGL - news), both drug discovery companies, announced today that they have entered into a two-year collaborative agreement in structural proteomics for new drug development initially focused on the area of ubiquitin ligases. Ubiquitin ligase activity is involved in cell division and the progression of certain cancers and has become an important new area of research in the field of oncology.
Under the terms of the agreement, scientists at MediChem's Emerald BioStructures structural proteomics division will express, purify and co- crystallize important protein complexes that are part of Rigel's anti-cancer program focusing on ubiquitin ligases. When the co-crystallizations are complete, MediChem will utilize Argonne National Laboratory's Advanced Photon Source (APS) to collect the data necessary to determine the structures of the protein complexes at near-atomic resolution. MediChem will also co-crystallize several of Rigel's small molecule drug leads with the protein complexes. This will provide Rigel researchers with a detailed three-dimensional picture of their drug leads bound to the target protein complexes. This structural information will be used to further optimize the chemical properties of Rigel's drug leads.
``Our technology platform in structural proteomics enables our scientists to make complex scientific discoveries in a high-throughput fashion,'' said Michael T. Flavin, Ph.D., President and CEO of MediChem. ``The three-dimensional structures that MediChem provides will enable Rigel to create more effective drugs by more fully understanding the interaction of their target proteins and drug leads.''
``Ubiquitin ligase activity has become a very important and promising area of discovery research for cancer therapeutics and Rigel is proud of its leading position in this area,'' said Donald G. Payan, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President for Rigel. ``We are developing small molecule drugs based on these protein targets and already have inhibitors of several classes of ubiquitin ligases, some of which have shown potent activity in animal models of cancer. The structural information that we gain through our collaboration with MediChem will have a significant impact on the outcome of our drug discovery programs and should help Rigel retain its leadership position in this area.''
Rigel will pay MediChem for research conducted by MediChem's scientists during the collaboration. MediChem will also receive milestone payments for completion of specified scientific achievements, and retain rights to certain technology, data and improvements to MediChem's structural proteomics technology platform. Rigel will also grant MediChem a right of discussion on all future medicinal chemistry partnering opportunities as related to the targets researched during this collaboration.<<
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Cheers, Tuck |
