GenoMed, Inc. Signs Letter Of Intent With Drug Discovery Company
ST. LOUIS, July 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GenoMed, Inc. (OTC Pink Sheets: GMED) ("the Company" or "GenoMed"), a St. Louis, Missouri-based medical genomics biotechnology company, announced today that it has signed a Letter of Intent to potentially partner with AngioDesign, Inc. ("AngioDesign") in drug discovery projects. AngioDesign is a privately held company that designs and develops new drugs directed to proven disease targets using structure-guided design tools ("smart molecule design").
AngioDesign was founded by Mario Ehlers, Ed Sturrock, and Ravi Acharya, who recently were the first to determine the 3-D crystal structure of ACE (angiotensin I-converting enzyme), one of the most important cardiovascular disease targets. The development of domain-selective ACE inhibitors that are expected to supercede first-generation inhibitors is an important R&D focus for the company. Further, AngioDesign will develop its drug discovery efforts in designing new compounds directed at proven disease targets, especially those associated with the vasculature and the circulation.
Two additional co-founders of AngioDesign are Dr. Fred Wagner and Dr. Bart Holmquist, who have extensive biotechnology experience, most recently at Restoragen, Inc.
Dr. Mario Ehlers, President of AngioDesign, stated that, "We are very pleased to be considered as a partner of GenoMed's for drug discovery. Our way of thinking about disease causation is very much in line with GenoMed's. We believe GenoMed's approach to finding disease-predisposition genes will give us a large number of targets to work on."
Dr. David Moskowitz, GenoMed's Chairman and Chief Medical Officer, said, "We are extremely pleased to have identified AngioDesign as a potential partner in our drug discovery process. Once GenoMed finds a disease- predisposition gene, a number of steps are required before that knowledge can be translated into better patient care. First, the protein product of the disease-causing gene must be imaged in three dimensions, which often requires X-ray crystallography. Next, existing drugs must be screened for their ability to bind to the protein; much of which can be accomplished by computer. If no existing drug exists, then new drugs must be designed to fit the binding site in the protein. Again, this can be done by computer, using so-called "rational drug design" or "smart-molecule design." The principals of AngioDesign have already proven their ability to successfully navigate many of these subsequent steps successfully, and we look forward to working together in the future."
About GenoMed
GenoMed, Inc. is a medical genomics company whose mission is to improve patient outcomes by identifying the genes that cause disease. A recent St. Louis Business Journal article (http://www.stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2002/05/13/story8.html) reported that the company has applied for patents based on its finding that the ACE gene is associated with nearly 40 common, age-related diseases. The Company has filed patent applications on its new treatments for both human and veterinary use. A video version of the company's treatment results for chronic kidney failure is available at 216.234.225.2
Consistent with the Company's goal to improve patient outcomes globally, GenoMed is currently working to license its treatments to physicians and healthcare systems worldwide. GenoMed recently announced that it is holding discussions with large physician organizations located in the Midwestern and Southwestern United States as part of its strategy to work directly with physicians to deliver its unique treatments to patients.
For questions, please contact Krissy Fischer, tel. 1-877-GENOMED, FAX 314-977-0042, email: kfischer@genomedics.com or visit GenoMed at www.genomedics.com .
SOURCE GenoMed, Inc.
CONTACT: Krissy Fischer of GenoMed, Inc., +1-877-436-6633, or fax,
+1-314-977-0042, or kfischer@genomedics.com
Web site: genomedics.com
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