Sorry I asked. Just saw the press release which I copy below. By the way, I took a quick look and noted that along with the price reduction in Intc and other semi conductor stocks, and generally, a bad day in the market, Igen is up a buck right now. I mentioned to my wife, as I dressed and listened to CNBC this morning "The whole market is falling and it will be an excellent time for whoever has been sucking up IGEN to throw in a big buy order and maybe pull some suckers off their positions! I'll bet it makes almost enough to cover our other losses!" Well, that last was optimistic, but the world is not ending. You are right: this Pfizer deal is a follow on to what we saw earlier with Aguron, and it certainly speaks of a quality product and a bright future for our favorite company.
Thursday March 5, 8:30 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: IGEN International, Inc.
Pfizer Acquires IGEN's First New High Throughput
System
GAITHERSBURG, Md., March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- IGEN International, Inc. (Nasdaq:
IGEN - news) announced today that they have reached an agreement with Pfizer, Inc (NYSE:
PFE - news) for the acquisition of the first ORIGEN(R) High Throughput Screening System,
built around IGEN's recently completed ECL Modules (ECLM). In this agreement, Pfizer has
paid for the right to acquire the initial units with delivery expected in 1998. Pfizer will receive
alpha unit testing platforms in March 1998. Pfizer will utilize these systems in drug discovery
projects. The ECLM allows IGEN to offer flexible throughput enhancement, with superior
ORIGEN(R) assay performance. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.
IGEN President, Dr. Richard Massey said, ''We are pleased that Pfizer will be our first
customer for an ECLM-based product. The ECLM technology will allow IGEN to
cost-effectively distribute ORIGEN-based products and services throughout multiple segments
of the drug development path, with enhanced assay performance and versatility for high
throughput screening. ORIGEN's ability to reduce significantly the amount of compound and
receptor needed to perform a screen provides significant cost savings for our customers.
ORIGEN assay development time is reduced to days versus months, eliminating a significant
bottleneck for screeners. Interference from natural properties in compounds, which is a
problem for many other screening technologies, does not effect ORIGENUs high sensitivity.''
High Throughput Screening allows pharmaceutical discovery groups to evaluate candidate
compounds from their combinatorial chemistry libraries in a rapid assay format, processing
thousands of compounds per day. Methods typically involve screening libraries for activity
related to specific therapeutic targets. ECLM is expected to provide the advantages of rapid
assay kinetics and improved assay range, while reducing the volume of critical reagents.
IGEN develops, manufactures, and markets diagnostic systems utilizing its patented ORIGEN
technology, which is based on electrochemiluminescence. ORIGEN provides uniform assay
formats to conduct a multitude of diagnostic tests including immunoassay, nucleic acid probe,
and clinical chemistry tests. Products using the ORIGEN technology include systems marketed
by IGEN and its licensees, Boehringer Mannheim, Organon Teknika and Eisai.
Statements in this release that relate to products, new product plans, product performance and
customer acceptance are forward-looking statements. Actual results might differ materially
from these statements due to risks and uncertainties, including the impact of competitive
products and pricing, the market acceptance of new products and market conditions. A more
detailed description of these risks applicable to IGEN appears in IGEN's annual report on
FORM 10-K for the year ended March 31, 1997, filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission and available upon request from IGEN. IGEN disclaims any intent or obligation
to update these forward-looking statements.
IGEN and ORIGEN(R) are registered trademarks of IGEN International, Inc.
SOURCE: IGEN International, Inc. |
