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Biotech / Medical : Ligand (LGND) Breakout! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tonyt who wrote (22046)	6/10/1998 10:24:00 AM
From: bob zagorin	Respond to of 32384

Axys Pharmaceuticals and Roche Bioscience Enter Functional Genomics Alliance SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO AND PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--June 10, 1998--Axys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: AXPH) and Roche Bioscience today announced the formation of an alliance based on the functional genomics capabilities of Axys. The alliance will focus on evaluating the function of genes provided by Roche Bioscience that may serve as drug targets in the development of therapies for pain and other conditions involving peripheral nervous system disorders. Under the terms of the agreement, Roche Bioscience will provide Axys with a set of novel genes to which Axys will apply its functional genomic technologies utilizing the well-studied nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). C. elegans is known to be a powerful model animal system and has the most completely sequenced genome of any animal. Many of the cellular and molecular mechanisms central to human disease have close counterparts in less complex animals like C. elegans. In addition, C. elegans is very compatible with high throughput screening. While specific terms were not disclosed, Roche Bioscience will pay Axys an upfront fee and provide funding for research support. Axys has granted Roche Bioscience an option to license targets discovered during the collaboration for the development of small molecule, diagnostic and antisense products, with license payments, milestones and royalties payable to Axys. Subject to certain rights of negotiation of Roche Bioscience, Axys will retain rights to develop gene therapy and therapeutic protein products acting upon targets discovered during the collaboration. The initial term of the agreement is 15 months, with Roche Bioscience holding an option to extend the agreement to 24 months. "This collaboration with Roche Bioscience is an excellent opportunity to identify novel therapeutic targets using C. elegans in our state-of-the-art functional genomics platform," said Dan Petree, Axys' president and chief operating officer. "Axys has aggressively pursued a variety of functional genomics strategies focused on whole organism systems, including C. elegans, drosophila (fruit fly) and yeast. This research will showcase one of our powerful functional genomics systems." "The nematode, C. elegans, is an excellent model system for use in functional genomics and Axys' NemaPharm technology is a leader in that area," said Roger Whiting, Ph.D., senior vice president and head of the Neurobiology Unit at Roche Bioscience. "We hope to capitalize on the initial inroads we have made in determining the genes and pathways involved in peripheral nervous system disorders. The alliance with Axys is a nice fit with our other genomic collaborations and internal research in novel gene identification." Axys Pharmaceuticals is a leader in the integration of life science technologies with a focus on transforming gene discoveries into drugs. The company has research collaborations with world-class pharmaceutical companies, covering a broad range of therapeutic areas, including respiratory, cardiovascular, and infectious disease, as well as oncology and central nervous system disorders. Located in Palo Alto, Calif., Roche Bioscience is a research-based, business-oriented enterprise dedicated to the discovery and accelerated early clinical development of innovative prescription drugs. Roche Bioscience is a member of the Roche Group, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. The Roche Bioscience website is available at www.roche.com/bioscience.