ArQule, Inc. and RiboGene, Inc. Announce Collaboration for Discovery and Development of
Novel Drug Candidates
MEDFORD, Mass. and HAYWARD, Calif., Oct. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- ArQule, Inc. (Nasdaq:ARQL) and RiboGene, Inc., a privately-held biotechnology
company, today announced a collaboration to identify and develop novel drug candidates for the treatment of bacterial and viral infections. The collaboration calls
for the use of ArQule's Mapping Array(TM) program to identify active compounds through the use of RiboGene's proprietary drug discovery systems. ArQule's
Mapping Array(TM) program is comprised of libraries of novel, diverse, small organic, pure compounds used for screening against biological targets in new product
discovery.
''As part of our ongoing efforts to play a significant role in drug discovery in the 21st century, ArQule continues to collaborate with both major pharmaceutical and
agrochemical companies, and with biotechnology companies,'' said Eric B. Gordon, President and CEO of ArQule, Inc. ''RiboGene's approach is to focus on
pathogen specific translation mechanisms. RiboGene has developed drug discovery systems to identify compounds related to bacterial, fungal and viral infections,
and we look forward to working with them.''
Under terms of the agreement, RiboGene and ArQule will share ownership rights to any active lead compounds discovered and will share any revenues upon
commercialization of those compounds. Leads will be identified using ArQule's Mapping Array(TM) program. If RiboGene and ArQule identify active leads, they
intend to optimize these leads through ArQule's proprietary Directed Array(TM) program. The Directed Array(TM) program is an iterative parallel process to
select a desired compound as a drug candidate.
RiboGene, Inc. is a privately-held biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of new classes of compounds that act through the
translational control of gene expression. Translation is the downstream process by which genetic information stored in DNA is converted into functional units known
as proteins.
ArQule, Inc. is a leading chemistry company in accelerated drug discovery using its high throughput lead generation and lead optimization technologies. ArQule
provides new pathways to product discovery by integrating five core technologies -- modular building block technology, structure-guided design, high speed parallel
chemical synthesis, information technology and an Automated Molecular Assembly Plant (AMAP(TM)) parallel synthesis system to accelerate the identification and
optimization of drug and product development candidates in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and agrochemical industries. ArQule is based in Medford,
Massachusetts. |
