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Biotech / Medical : Biotechnology Value Fund, L.P. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: scaram(o)uche who wrote (1508)	3/6/2000 5:06:00 PM
From: scaram(o)uche	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 4974

Monday March 6, 4:38 pm Eastern Time Company Press Release SOURCE: Chiron Corporation Chiron Granted Hepatitis C Patent Discovery Research Broadens Intellectual Property Position EMERYVILLE, Calif., March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Chiron Corporation (Nasdaq: CHIR - news) today announced that it has been granted United States Patent No. 6,027,729. This patent is directed to hepatitis C polypeptides encoded throughout the genomes of hepatitis C viruses (HCV). The polypeptides can be from the core, envelope, or non-structural regions of any strain of hepatitis C virus. Immunologically reactive HCV polypeptides, including large recombinant proteins and shorter synthetic peptides, are used in immunoassays for both screening blood donations and in clinical diagnosis of HCV infection. Such polypeptides are also being used in the development of vaccines to stimulate protective immune responses, and as targets in the development of new anti-HCV therapeutics. These polypeptides are also used to screen and produce anti-HCV antibody preparations. ``This patent is based on a fundamental breakthrough in infectious disease research which Chiron scientists achieved when they cloned and correctly identified the hepatitis C virus,' commented Robert Blackburn, vice president and chief patent counsel at Chiron. ``Never before had an unknown infectious agent been identified through molecular cloning techniques alone without prior characterization. This invention has resulted in saving millions of people from a potentially debilitating and sometimes fatal disease. Likewise it has enabled healthcare systems worldwide to save millions of dollars in detection and treatment costs.' Hepatitis C, previously called non-A, non-B hepatitis, has been known since the mid 1970s and became recognized as a major health threat to patients receiving blood transfusions. In response to this crisis, major laboratories around the world searched without success for the disease-causing agent. In 1987, Chiron scientists Michael Houghton, Ph.D.; Qui-Lim Choo, Ph.D.; and George Kuo, Ph.D., cloned and first identified HCV as the cause of transfusion-related non-A, non-B hepatitis. This discovery marked the first time a virus was cloned before it had been grown in tissue culture or otherwise isolated. Based on its research, Chiron has been granted in excess of 100 HCV-related patents in over 20 countries. About Chiron Corporation Chiron Corporation, headquartered in Emeryville, California, is a leading biotechnology company that participates in three global healthcare markets: biopharmaceuticals, vaccines, and blood testing. The company is applying a broad and integrated scientific approach to the development of innovative products for preventing and treating cancer, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular disease. For further information, visit the company's website at www.chiron.com. This document contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risk and uncertainty. There are a number of factors that could cause the company's actual performance to differ materially from expectations. These and other factors investors should consider are more thoroughly described in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the Form 10-Q and Form 10-K. SOURCE: Chiron Corporation