BioSeek Enters Into Joint Research Collaboration to Discover Novel Peptide Therapeutics With Amylin Pharmaceuticals
Tuesday May 22, 8:02 am ET
- BioSeek Receives $10 Million Equity Investment from Amylin -
BURLINGAME, Calif., May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- BioSeek, Inc., a leader in applying integrated human biology systems for developing new therapeutics, announced today the signing of a joint research collaboration agreement with Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. that will focus on the discovery and development of novel peptide therapeutics for inflammatory conditions. Amylin has also made a $10 million equity investment in BioSeek.
Under the collaboration, BioSeek will apply its BioMAP® human biology screening systems to evaluate the potential of peptide therapeutics in Amylin's proprietary polypeptide hormone library, PHORMOL(TM), to treat a range of inflammatory conditions. In exchange for milestone payments and royalties payable to Amylin, BioSeek will have the right to select and exclusively license two peptides resulting from the screening program as the basis for proprietary optimization and development programs for therapeutic indications outside of Amylin's core therapeutic focus. BioSeek is eligible to receive royalties if Amylin develops or licenses an additional limited set of peptides for uses identified in the collaboration. The agreement builds on an earlier screening collaboration formed by Amylin and BioSeek in 2006.
"This collaboration with Amylin is an important strategic move for BioSeek, as it provides us with funding, a novel source of therapeutic compounds, and access to valuable peptide chemistry expertise to launch a proprietary development program in inflammatory disease," commented Peter Staple, chief executive officer of BioSeek. "Amylin's research organization has generated a unique drug discovery resource with its extensive library of peptide hormones, and we look forward to a productive and interactive relationship with the Amylin team."
"We are excited to be working with BioSeek in the area of inflammatory disorders," said Michael Hanley, vice president, discovery research at Amylin. "This collaboration leverages our proprietary peptide library, PHORMOL(TM), for therapeutic indications outside of Amylin's primary areas of development. As a result, this new venture presents an excellent vehicle for value generation."
BioSeek's BioMAP® Systems are a series of human primary cell-based assay systems designed to replicate the intricate cell and pathway interactions present in human disease biology. Depending on their mechanism of action, compounds induce specific patterns of changes in these systems (BioMAP profiles) that can be compared to a large number of reference profiles in BioSeek's database. BioMAP profiling can provide in-depth characterization of drug function, including defining mechanism of action and secondary activities, and can provide insights into potential clinical applications. In addition to characterizing previously identified lead compounds, BioSeek is using BioMAP Systems for primary screening, to rapidly generate lead compounds that have novel activity in a particular disease setting.
About BioSeek
BioSeek is improving the success rate of pharmaceutical research and development by integrating human biology from the early stages of drug discovery onward. The Company's BioMAP® Systems incorporate predictive human cell-based disease models that generate uniquely informative activity signatures for each potential drug, driving the selection and development of new drug candidates. BioSeek is leveraging BioMAP® Systems technology in collaborations to enhance the productivity of its pharmaceutical partners' pipelines, and in the Company's internal programs to identify promising compounds for proprietary development in the fields of inflammation, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune diseases, and related indications.
For more information, go to www.bioseekinc.com
BioSeek Contacts:
BioSeek, Inc.
Peter D. Staple, Chief Executive Officer
Tel: 650.552.0751
E-mail: pstaple@bioseekinc.com
MacDougall Biomedical Communications
Kari Watson
Tel: 508.647.0209
E-mail: kwatson@macbiocom.com |
