i guess this will hit the wire today. Sounds to me like they are making some progress.
June 3, 1998
ProScript and Hoechst Marion Roussel Extend Research
Collaboration to Develop Therapeutics for Inflammatory
Disease
Focus on Suppressing NF-kB Activation
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., and BRIDGEWATER, N.J., June 3 /PRNewswire/
-- ProScript, Inc. and Hoechst Marion Roussel announced today that
Hoechst Marion Roussel has elected to extend by a year the research phase
of the companies' collaboration for the development and commercialization
of small molecule therapeutics to treat inflammatory disease. The newly
announced extension also includes an option for Hoechst Marion Roussel to
continue the collaboration for a second year. The collaboration utilizes
ProScript's novel technology for manipulating signaling events and the
ubiquitin-proteasome pathway to suppress activation of NF-kB, a gene
transcription factor associated with both cancer and inflammatory disease.
The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway is a fundamental biological pathway for
intracellular protein degradation that provides multiple new targets for drug
discovery. Protein degradation is essential for a number of key cellular
activities, such as cell division, gene transcription and tumor cell suppression,
all of which are important in the pathophysiology of major diseases. NF-kB
plays a key role in activating a variety of genes associated with inflammation
and cancer. NF-kB itself is activated by degradation of its inhibitor, IkB.
"ProScript's novel drug discovery platform provides a unique approach to
using the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway to discover new drugs to treat
inflammatory diseases," said Frank Douglas, M.D., Executive Vice
President, Drug Innovation and Approval of Hoechst Marion Roussel. "We
are very pleased with the progress we have made toward providing a new
class of compounds for clinical development."
"Our collaboration with Hoechst Marion Roussel has shown excellent
progress, and today encompasses screening and evaluation of compounds
which suppress NF-kB, as well as additional factors which work upstream
of NF-kB," said Dan R. Burns, President and Chief Executive Officer of
ProScript. "Our collaboration with Hoechst Marion Roussel is part of
ProScript's strategy to maximize the value of our technology and advance it
more rapidly through partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies and
research institutions. In addition to this collaboration with Hoechst Marion
Roussel to discover and test novel anti-inflammatory drugs, ProScript is also
advancing our first cancer product toward the clinic in collaboration with the
MD Anderson and National Cancer Institute."
The collaboration between ProScript and Hoechst Marion Roussel was
initiated in November 1995 as a three-year agreement. Under the terms of
the current agreement, Hoechst Marion Roussel receives exclusive
worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize products
discovered in the course of the collaboration. ProScript receives equity,
research and development support, milestone payments and future royalties
on product sales.
Hoechst Marion Roussel, a world leader in pharmaceutical-based health
care, is dedicated to extending and enhancing human life through the
discovery, development, manufacture and sale of pharmaceutical products.
Our major brands are among the world's leading therapies for cardiovascular
diseases, infections, allergies and diabetes. Based in Frankfurt, Germany,
Hoechst Marion Roussel is the pharmaceutical company of Hoechst, an
international company focusing on life sciences.
ProScript, Inc. is engaged in the discovery and commercialization of small
molecule inhibitors of the enzymes of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, an
important biological pathway that regulates protein degradation and other
key cellular functions critical to cancer, inflammation and metabolic diseases.
The Company has two programs advancing toward the clinic in cancer and
inflammation, and a portfolio of earlier-stage products in development.
ProScript has collaborations with Hoechst Marion Roussel, Inc.,
Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and MD
Anderson for the development of its novel small molecule inhibitors.
/CONTACT: David Lubner, Chief Financial Officer of ProScript, Inc.,
617-374-1470, dlubner@proscript.com or Lori Kraut of Hoechst Marion
Roussel Global Media Relations, 908-231-5752 or Robert Gottlieb or
Melinda Lindquist of Feinstein Kean Partners, 617-577-8110,
melinda_lindquist@fkpi.com/ |
