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Biotech / Medical : GZMO -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Extra Pale who wrote (419)	1/15/2002 12:44:31 PM
From: tuck	Respond to of 438

>>FRAMINGHAM, Mass., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/-- Genzyme Molecular Oncology (Nasdaq: GZMO - news) today announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 6,338,945 ('945) relating to its high throughput screening technology known as SPHERE(TM). The method described in the patent entitled, ``A Method for Identifying Cytotoxic T Cell (CTL) Epitopes,'' is broadly applicable and may be used in the selection of potential vaccine candidates, as well as the identification of novel antigens for treatment of cancer, viral infections or autoimmune disorders. Additional patent applications on this method are pending in the U.S. and abroad. According to Charles Nicolette, Ph.D., the inventor of the issued patent and leader of Genzyme Molecular Oncology's antigen discovery team, candidates identified using the patented method are generally more effective than the natural epitope in stimulating an immune response in vitro. ``In many cases, we have identified peptides that are 1,000 to 100,000 times more potent than the native,'' stated Nicolette. ``Because these peptides are screened against CTL that recognized the native epitope, we know each is therapeutically relevant.'' The SPHERE (Solid PHase Epitope REcovery) technology is the key driver of Genzyme Molecular Oncology's powerful antigen discovery platform, identifying and ranking an enormous range of peptides. It works collectively with three other proprietary technologies - SELEC-T(TM), SCAN(TM), and SAGE(TM). Using this platform, Genzyme Molecular Oncology can identify potent antigens and epitopes for drug development in as little as three months, and move an antigen into the clinic within 12 to 18 months. Traditional discovery technologies can take from one to three years to merely identify unknown antigens. ``SPHERE is an efficient, high-throughput process which we have used at Genzyme Molecular Oncology to screen and analyze libraries of more than 47 million peptides in as little as one week,'' stated Gail Maderis, president of Genzyme Molecular Oncology. ``The '945 patent follows our patent issuance last fall on our first batch of novel SPHERE peptides, and strengthens our intellectual property portfolio on our antigen discovery program.'' Many researchers are interested in the identification of novel antigens and natural epitopes for diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of medical disorders. By combining SPHERE with gene expression technology, such as Genzyme Molecular Oncology's SAGE, the identification of the antigen and natural epitope is accomplished rapidly. Genzyme Molecular Oncology is currently partnered with others on use of the SPHERE technology and is continuing to seek additional partnerships. Previously, it announced a discovery and licensing agreement with Purdue Pharma L.P. around tumor antigen discovery and an HIV antigen discovery collaboration with researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital which relies principally on the power of the SPHERE technology.<< snip Cheers, Tuck