Geron's agreement with Clontech could lead to elite production cell lines. GERN running with all cylinders firing, will move up.
IMO the news of Geron's marketing agreement with Clontech indicates that the company is running on all cylinders with this new marketing agreement sure to produce quick revenues. There is an enormous need for immortallized cell lines for drug screening, and more importantly, as elite host cell lines that can be made to grown in bioreactors with little fuzzing, pumping out large quantities of biotherapeutic products:
"Wednesday March 17, 7:29 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Geron Announces Product Marketing Agreement With Clontech
MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--March 17, 1999--Geron Corp. (Nasdaq:GERN - news) announced today an agreement with Clontech Laboratories, Inc. to market cell lines immortalized with the enzyme telomerase.
Under the license agreement, Clontech will produce and sell products to the not-for-profit research market. Clontech will also supply products to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries under licenses to be executed between Geron and the individual commercial companies.
The agreement provides for Clontech to pay an up-front technology licensing fee, and for Clontech and Geron to share equally operating profits generated from the sale of the cell lines. Under the terms of the agreement, Clontech will be responsible for manufacturing and marketing of products resulting from the use of Geron's telomerase technology.
Telomerase is an enzyme shown by Geron to convey unlimited replicative capacity to normal cells without deregulation of normal growth control functions (Bodnar, et al 1998, Science 279:349-352; Jiang, et al 1999, Nature Genetics 21:111-114; Morales, et al 1999, Nature Genetics 21:115-118).
Immortalized normal human cell lines represent a significant step forward for cell-based research in the medical and pharmaceutical industries. Normal somatic cells have a finite lifespan in culture which has limited their use in research applications.
Today, researchers extend the life of cell lines by transforming cells with oncogenes, resulting in abnormal gene expression which confounds the study of various biological mechanisms and limits the effectiveness of drug screening and testing.
Telomerase-transfected cells can provide long-lived, homogenous cell populations that exhibit normal phenotypic and functional characteristics. Moreover, these immortalized cells can undergo repeated rounds of genetic engineering, thus enhancing their potential utility in biological studies, cell-based drug screens, and drug toxicity testing, as well as cell and gene therapy applications.
Geron has cloned the two essential components of the telomerase enzyme: the RNA template of telomerase (''hTR'') and the catalytic reverse transcriptase protein component (''hTERT'').
The company's patent portfolio includes an issued patent in the United States and Australia for hTR and an issued patent in the U.K. for hTERT and hTERT immortalized cells, as well as numerous U.S. and foreign patent applications for both components of the enzyme.
''Clontech is a leader in providing high-quality products to the life science research community. Immortalized normal cell lines will be an important research tool, and we look forward to near-term product launches,'' said David L. Greenwood, Geron's chief financial officer.
Geron Corp. is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on discovering and developing therapeutic and diagnostic products based upon the company's understanding of human pluripotent stem cells, and of telomeres and telomerase in cells -- fundamental biological platforms for the treatment of cancer and other age-related degenerative diseases.
Clontech Laboratories, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets products for life science research. With over 1,500 products, the company has assembled one of the broadest portfolios of molecular biology research tools in the industry.
The company's products facilitate research analysis in the areas of gene identification, gene expression analysis, functional analysis, and target validation. For additional corporate information, visit Clontech's website at clontech.com.
The company desires to take advantage of the ''safe harbor'' provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Specifically, the company wishes to alert readers that the matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Additional information on potential factors that could affect the company's results is included in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 1998.
Note to Editors: To receive an index and copies of recent press releases, call Geron's News On Demand toll-free fax service, 800/782-3279. Additional information about the company can be obtained at geron.com."
Regards to all,
Jake Blackmerlin |
