Interesting news:
Monday August 10, 1:44 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Aurora Biosciences Corporation
Aurora Biosciences Announces Delivery of First Stage of UHTSS for
Bristol-Myers Squibb
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Aurora Biosciences Corporation (Nasdaq: ABSC - news) announced today that it has completed delivery and installation
of the automated storage and retrieval module of the Ultra-high Throughput Screening System (''UHTSS(TM)'') at Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research
Institute in Wallingford, Connecticut. Aurora is designing and developing the UHTSS for Bristol-Myers Squibb as a part of the UHTSS consortium.
The automated storage and retrieval system for Aurora's UHTSS is designed to house more than 1,000,000 discrete compounds in solution for
computer-controlled access. Aurora has developed a customized automated retrieval system for the module that can select and deliver specified compounds from
this large library of chemicals at a rate of at least 100,000 compounds per day for primary screening.
''We are pleased to be the first of Aurora's partners to receive the storage and retrieval module,'' said John Houston, Ph.D., vice president, Lead Discovery, at
Bristol-Myers Squibb. ''This module is the first deliverable of our major investment in Aurora's UHTSS. We have custom-designed a facility to house the UHTSS,
which will reinforce the world-class screening capabilities of Bristol-Myers Squibb and significantly enhance our lead drug discovery capability.''
The next module will include the miniaturization of the screening process, including completion of technology for the microfluidics and NanoPlates(TM) screening
platforms. The technology for this module is scheduled for completion by year-end 1998 with delivery to the first syndicate partners during the first half of 1999.
Bristol-Myers Squibb signed the collaboration and licensing agreement with Aurora in December 1996, becoming the first member to join Aurora's syndicate to
design and develop the UHTSS. Other companies that have joined Aurora's syndicate are Eli Lilly and Company [NYSE:LLY - news], announced in January
1997, Warner-Lambert Company [NYSE:WLA - news], announced in September 1997, and Merck & Co., Inc., announced in December 1997. Syndicate
members are collaborating with Aurora on the development of the UHTSS and specific screening assays and have the right to use certain of Aurora's proprietary
fluorescent screening technologies. Each member provides funding support for the cost of development of the UHTSS and is scheduled to receive its own system
over a three- to four-year period for use in its internal drug discovery programs.
Aurora designs and develops proprietary drug discovery systems, services and technologies to accelerate and enhance the discovery of new medicines. Aurora is
developing an integrated technology platform comprised of a portfolio of proprietary fluorescent assay technologies and an ultra-high throughput screening system
designed to allow assay miniaturization and automation with the potential to help change the paradigm of drug discovery. The Company believes that this platform
will enable Aurora and its collaborators to take advantage of the opportunities created by recent advances in genomics and combinatorial chemistry that have
generated a multitude of new therapeutic targets and small molecule compounds to screen. Current collaborators include Merck & Co., Inc., Warner-Lambert
Company, Eli Lilly and Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche Bioscience, Allelix Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., Cytovia, Inc. and SIDDCO, Inc.
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are ''forward-looking'' statements which involve a high degree of technological and competitive risks
and uncertainties that exist in the Company's operations and business environment. Such statements are only predictions and the Company's actual events or results
may differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to differences include risks associated with the
dependence on patents and proprietary rights, the Company's new and uncertain technology, dependence on pharmaceutical and biotechnology collaborations, and
the development or availability of competing systems. These factors and others are more fully described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 1997, and Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 1998 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For additional corporate
information, visit the Aurora website at aurorabio.com.
SOURCE: Aurora Biosciences Corporation
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