Martin,
Parking details in full below. Note Neogenesis inked a deal with Microcide last month.
OXFORD, UK and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Oxford GlycoSciences Plc (``OGS'') (LSE: OGS, Nasdaq: OGSI) today entered into a collaboration with NeoGenesis Inc., a privately held biotech company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This alliance is expected to accelerate OGS' discovery and development of small molecule drugs against protein targets derived from its high-throughput proteomics platform. NeoGenesis' chemical genomics technology platform is a logical complement to the thousands of disease-associated proteins identified by OGS, and both companies expect the deal to increase drug candidate output and shorten the time to clinic.
Central to NeoGenesis' chemical genomics drug discovery platform is the company's core technology, the Automated Ligand Identification System (``ALIS''). ALIS is a scalable system for rapidly screening large numbers of disease-associated targets. Coupled with NeoGenesis' neoMorph compound ``library,'' consisting of more than 10 million diverse ``drug-like'' compounds, ALIS identifies small molecule ligands of high affinity and high selectivity against the full range of protein classes to accelerate drug discovery.
Under the terms of the agreement, OGS will provide a large number of potential protein targets it has identified. In turn, NeoGenesis will apply its high-throughput integrated technologies for chemistry, screening and computational biology to search for lead compounds. OGS will also provide NeoGenesis with research funding, milestone payments and royalties on drug candidates and resultant products. Finally, OGS will commercialise all drug candidates and products, and is acquiring an equity stake in NeoGenesis. Detailed financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
``Conventional drug discovery technologies are underpowered to leverage the scale and nature of targets emerging from proteomics research,'' said Dr. Raj Parekh, Chief Scientific Officer of OGS. ``Our collaboration with NeoGenesis will give us the means to discover rapidly lead compounds against a large number of protein targets, so reducing time to clinical development. A key requirement to fulfill the genome-to-drug paradigm is to obtain clinical leads rapidly against genomics and proteomics targets and use these leads both to validate the target and to serve as drug candidates in themselves.''
``OGS is a recognised leader in proteomics-based drug research,'' said Satish Jindal, Ph.D., president and CSO of NeoGenesis. ``By combining OGS' high-throughput protein discovery with NeoGenesis' high-throughput lead discovery technologies the collaboration has the potential to yield many important new drugs. The OGS partnership is a significant addition to our drug discovery and development programme, and also it has the potential to provide NeoGenesis with milestone payments and royalties from profits generated by future products.''
``OGS is identifying a large portfolio of disease associated proteins,'' said Michael Kranda, Chief Executive Officer of OGS. ``To capitalise on the potential that this represents, we've enlisted the large chemical libraries and high-speed screening technology of NeoGenesis, which is a great match for OGS' high-throughput proteomics platform. Together, I believe our two companies can set a new standard for fast and cost-effective drug discovery. This collaboration, together with the monoclonal antibody-based relationship with Medarex, confirms OGS' commitment to discovering and developing drugs from the protein targets identified by our proteomics platform.''
There will an analysts conference call on Wednesday 20 June at 11am (UK time). For further details, please contact Claire Rowell on 0207 269 7285.
About OGS
OGS has developed a proprietary technology for the comprehensive study of proteins, integrating proteomics with genomics to create an innovative drug discovery platform. OGS's proteomics collaborations with major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies include Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Medarex, Pioneer Hi Bred/Du Pont and Pfizer. OGS has technology development collaborations with Applera, Cambridge Antibody Technology, Packard BioScience and the Institute for Systems Biology. Most recently, OGS has formed a GBP 30 million joint venture with Marconi plc, called Confirmant.
OGS has drug research discovery programmes in cancer, infectious disease and glycolipid storage disorders. OGS' most advanced drug candidate, Vevesca(TM), is currently undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of Gaucher disease. Vevesca(TM) has received ``fast track'' designation from the FDA and has been granted orphan drug status by both the FDA and the European Commission for the treatment of Gaucher disease. OGS expects to file a new drug application for the oral treatment of Gaucher disease in mid-2001. Vevesca(TM) is an investigational drug and has not received approval for marketing in any country.
About NeoGenesis
NeoGenesis is a leader in developing drug discovery technologies that enable pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to identify more and better drug leads and drug targets from the genome in far less time than conventional technologies. NeoGenesis' chemical genomics technology addresses critical and complex barriers in genomics drug discovery by facilitating an efficient and highly scalable method for discovery of new drugs from thousands of proteins that genomics and proteomics technologies are yielding. NeoGenesis is creatively solving the ``chokepoint'' problem of the incompatibility of current, slow drug discovery processes with the diversity and volume of the proteome.
Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., NeoGenesis has quickly developed partnerships and collaborative research agreements with leading biopharmaceutical companies, including; Merck, Schering Plough, Biogen and Microcide. NeoGenesis is privately held and has raised more than $40 million in funding from venture, institutional and private investors. Current investors include; OrbiMed Advisors LLC of New York, Ft. Washington Private Equity Investors, Essex Street Associates and Valentine Partners. |
