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Biotech / Medical : Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MLNM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Richard Haugland who wrote (182)	4/16/1998 7:49:00 PM
From: Richard Haugland	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3044

Millennium finds HDL cholesterol target CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 16 (Reuters) - Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Thursday that it has identified a key molecule associated with HDL or ''good'' cholesterol in the liver, and that this may offer a new therapeutic target in developing novel treatment for coronary artery disease. Millennium said that it has found the SR-BI receptor to be a key molecule mediating the selective uptake of HDL. The company said that it and Columbia University published the study in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Reduced HDL levels are closely correlated with the risk of developing coronary artery disease. Millennium said its research team generated a strain of mice bearing a mutation that decreased expression of the SR-BI receptor. Millennium scientists, in collaboration researchers at Columbia University then analyzed the effects of this mutation on HDL metabolism and found that SR-BI plays a pivotal role in regulating plasma HDL levels. They found that SR-BI is the major molecule mediating clearance of HDL cholesterol by the liver. In October 1995, Millennium and Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY - news) entered into a strategic alliance research agreement that utilized Millennium's gene discovery engine to supply screening targets for drug development in cardiovascular disease to Lilly. The work described in this new paper was carried out as part of this strategic alliance.