Bio Screening Industry News

Munich and Freiburg, Germany, May 7, 2008 / b3c newswire / – CRELUX and ProQinase announced today that they have entered into a joint agreement to supply customers with crystal-grade protein kinases and readily available kinase complex structures.

Under the agreement, CRELUX and ProQinase will establish and continuously expand an off-the-shelf crystal-grade protein kinase portfolio, optimized and quality-controlled for successful crystallization. In addition, the two companies will work closely together to provide new crystal-grade protein or crystal structures, tailored to meet customers’ needs.

Recombinant protein kinases, optimized for crystallization, will be produced and exclusively marketed by ProQinase, while CRELUX will continue to provide customers with crystallization and x-ray crystallography services. CRELUX will support ProQinase by performing crystallization quality control for each crystal grade protein batch. At the same time, ProQinase will grant CRELUX privileged direct access to kinase crystal-grade protein.

“This new joint crystal-grade kinase platform offers tremendous advantages: It enables us to continue to focus on our core expertise – complex structure solution – while leveraging the expertise of ProQinase to significantly strengthen our capacities in protein expression,” commented Dr. Michael Schäffer, CEO of CRELUX.

“The combination of CRELUX’s expertise in protein crystallography and ProQinase’s know-how in kinase cloning and expression makes the two companies the partners of choice for all customers interested in kinase crystallography,” noted Dr. Christoph Schächtele, CEO of ProQinase.

CRELUX has used its state-of-the-art structural biology platform to solve more than 250 crystal and co-crystal structures for pharma and biotech companies. This platform encompasses all steps – from target cloning and expression all the way to high-throughput protein crystallization and in-house x-ray crystallography.

ProQinase, as part of its integrated protein kinase technology platform, offers more than 150 recombinant human protein kinases – all produced in-house – and provides all types of in vitro testing services, with more than 220 protein kinases.

Notes to editors

CRELUX GmbH ( www.crelux.com) provides fast and affordable access to co-crystal structures for biotech and pharma companies worldwide. Three dimensional structures of target-compound complexes are unique sources of information during the rational drug discovery process. Straightforward availability of structural data at an early stage of the drug development process significantly enhances productivity and success rates during hit selection, lead generation, and lead optimization. CRELUX has streamlined the processes of structure generation and solved hundreds of co-crystal structures using an integrated technology platform. In addition to customer designed projects crystallization conditions of numerous relevant therapeutic targets are available within the Off-The-Shelf Program of CRELUX. Off-The-Shelf target structures are delivered at a fixed price and short turn around times, facilitating affordable access to structural information.

ProQinase GmbH ( www.proqinase.com) provides an Integrated Protein Kinase Technology (iProKiTe®) Platform for preclinical drug development of protein kinase inhibitors. More than 150 highly active recombinant kinases are offered for sale and more than 220 kinases are available for in vitro testing services (HTS and selectivity profiling etc.). Cellular and in vivo test systems including orthotopic tumor models allow further testing of lead compounds. A Clinical biomarker analysis service supports the evaluation of clinical trials.

Carlsbad, Calif., and Beltsville, Md., May 7, 2008 – In research demonstrating that RNA previously thought to have no biological relevance may be of use for therapeutic and diagnostic targets, Invitrogen Corporation (NASDAQ:IVGN), a provider of essential life science technologies for research, production and diagnostics, and BioServe, the leading provider of clinically annotated tissue samples and provider of molecular marker research services, today announced that their technologies identified noncoding RNAs that were differentially expressed in healthy and diseased tissue. These micro ribonucleic acid (miRNA) sequences were either up or down-regulated between matched samples of RNA isolated from healthy colon and colorectal cancer tissues.  Data was presented in a poster at the annual meeting for the American Association for Cancer Research.

Invitrogen researchers used RNA samples from BioServe’s OncoRNA (http://www.bioserve.com/products/oncoRNA.cfm) product line, a series of RNAs isolated from fresh-frozen, fully annotated tumor and adjacent normal tissues, to probe the Ncode(TM) Human miRNA microarray V3.  Ncode(TM) Profiler software identified miRNAs that were either up- or down-regulated in tumor versus healthy tissue, and researchers used quantitative PCR to validate the findings.

“Using the high quality RNA samples from BioServe, we were able to identify novel microRNA sequences that could potentially be involved in the generation of new tumor tissues, particularly in colorectal cancer,” said Chris Adams, research and development leader of Epigenetics at Invitrogen.  “If more stringently validated, these disease-related microRNAs may eventually serve as targets for diagnostic or therapeutic development.”

MicroRNAs are short RNA sequences that do not code for specific proteins but are extremely important in the regulation of gene expression; they are implicated in several disease states including cancer and heart disease.  Among the activity of miRNAs is the triggering of messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation and the inhibition of protein translation – the process of assembling amino acids into proteins based on the instructions contained in mRNA sequences.  Invitrogen’s Ncode(TM) Human miRNA microarray V3 consists of miRNA content from multiple sources, including the Sanger 10.0 miRNA database and novel miRNAs unavailable in public databases, giving users access to strong content for identification and study of miRNAs.

“MicroRNA is making headlines in drug discovery for its ability to fine tune the activity of genes and its part in the formation of cancer,” said Kevin Krenitsky, chief executive officer, BioServe. “This makes it all the more critical that researchers can be certain they are working with stable, highly annotated samples collected under rigorous ethical and scientific protocols. We created OncoRNA to respond to this need, providing bench-ready RNA for tomorrow’s discoveries.”

About BioServe

BioServe is a leader in the processing, development, and validation of diagnostic tests for the practice of personalized, predictive and preventive medicine. Leading pharma, biotech and diagnostic firms collaborate with BioServe to identify and validate markers that cause disease while correlating clinical and molecular data to develop new diagnostic tests promoting wellness around the world. BioServe offers the Global Repository(R), a growing library of over 600,000 human DNA, tissue and serum samples linked to detailed clinical and demographic data from 140,000 consented and anonymized patients from four continents. Leveraging BioServe’s robust genomic analytical services, technology, Global Repository and CLIA-certified laboratory, collaborators gain a complete, highly efficient platform for processing diagnostic test results and identifying genomic markers for powerful new assays. BioServe has headquarters in Beltsville, MD and Hyderabad, India. For more information please visit www.bioserve.com or call 301-470-3362.

About Invitrogen

Invitrogen Corporation (NASDAQ:IVGN) provides products and services that support academic and government research institutions and pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide in their efforts to improve the human condition. The company provides essential life science technologies for disease research, drug discovery, and commercial bioproduction. Invitrogen’s own research and development efforts are focused on breakthrough innovation in all major areas of biological discovery including functional genomics, proteomics, stem cells, cell therapy and cell biology — placing Invitrogen’s products in nearly every major laboratory in the world. Founded in 1987, Invitrogen is headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and conducts business in more than 70 countries around the world. The company employs approximately 4,700 scientists and other professionals and had revenues of approximately $1.3 billion in 2007. For more information, visit www.invitrogen.com.

Boston, USA — April 29, 2008 — Today at the Bio-IT World Conference & Expo in Boston, USA, CLC bio announced collaboration with Microsoft Corp. on integrating CLC bio’s extensive bioinformatics solutions with Microsoft’s software platform, for the benefit of companies, corporations, and institutions in the biotech, pharmaceutical, and life science sectors. CLC bio has already added support for Microsoft SQL Server in its database solution, CLC Bioinformatics Database, as well as support for Microsoft’s high-performance computing solutions, Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 and Windows HPC Server 2008.

Dr. Rudy Potenzone, worldwide pharmaceutical industry technology strategist at Microsoft Corp. and director of the Bio IT Alliance, states,
‘We are delighted to work together with CLC bio, a member of the Bio IT Alliance and one of the world’s leading bioinformatics solution providers. This collaboration will ultimately help life sciences firms transition to the Microsoft platform throughout their research and development departments. CLC bio’s tools, fully integrated with the Microsoft Office System, increase ease of use and expand the number of potential users, while reducing administrative overhead and creating a lean workflow. Furthermore, CLC bio’s internationally renowned experts are available for consulting and customized development.’

Jan Lomholdt, Vice President at CLC bio, continues,
‘With our support for Microsoft’s server solutions, the first step in the process has already been taken. The second step is to further advance our collaboration in areas such as Next Generation Sequencing and high-performance computing, which ultimately can help realize the potential of personalized medicine. As a former member of Microsoft’s World Wide Advisory Council, I have first hand experience of the strength and potential Microsoft brings to the table with a collaboration like this, which of course is interesting for a company like ours.’

Windows HPC Server 2008, the successor to Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003, includes a common set of High Performance Computing productivity tools that reaches across desktop and clusters, including a new Parallel Computing Initiative for multicore development. CLC bio’s high-performance computing solution for servers and clusters, CLC Bioinformatics Cell, supports Microsoft’s Message Passing Interface (MPI) in order to run bioinformatics algorithms such as HMMER, ClustalW, and Smith-Waterman on Windows HPC Server 2008 installations.

All CLC bio’s solutions are cross-platform, running on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, as well as Mac OS X and Linux

About CLC bio
CLC bio is the world’s leading full-service bioinformatics solution provider, solely focusing on the development of bioinformatics: software, hardware, data analysis, and custom-designed bioinformatics algorithms.

CLC bio’s mission is to be among the most innovative bioinformatics companies in the 21st century. This is realized through:

Development of bioinformatics software and hardware based on the latest scientific findings
User-friendly, integrated and intuitive cross-platform software solutions
Continuous focus on customer needs and superior customer service
Frequent product updates including the latest IT technologies and bioinformatics algorithms
A flexible IT architecture, enabling customers to buy or develop individualized solutions at a reasonable price

Hamburg, Germany | Oxford, UK - Evotec AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT) announced today that the Company and Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Osaka, Japan) signed a new drug discovery agreement targeting a protease chosen by Ono.

The collaboration applies Evotec’s proprietary fragment-based drug discovery platform, EVOlutionTM to identify novel, small molecular weight compounds active against a protease target. The platform integrates, among other things, protein X-ray crystallography, computational chemistry, structural biology, biochemical, and NMR based fragment screening in combination with its high-quality fragment libraries. In the collaboration it is combined with Evotec’s expertise in medicinal chemistry and ADMET to further characterize active compounds identified and optimize their potency and selectivity to generate molecules for subsequent progression into clinical trials.

Under the agreement, Ono will pay to Evotec initial payments (technology access fee) for access to Evotec’s fragment-based drug discovery platform, EVOlutionTM, research funding as well as success-based milestones based on the research progress.

Dr Mark Ashton, Executive Vice President Business Development Services at Evotec, said: “We are extremely pleased that Evotec’s capabilities in drug discovery and, in particular, our proprietary EVOlutionTM platform for fragment-based drug discovery, have been so highly regarded by Ono and that they have chosen us as their partner for this collaboration.  We are confident that Evotec will contribute to Ono’s drug discovery program.”

“We have the highest regards for the wide range of drug discovery technologies Evotec possesses and highly anticipate the collaboration will result in identifying a novel drug having high potentials” said Daikichi Fukushima, Ph.D., Managing Director, Research Headquarters at Ono.

Forward looking statements
Information set forth in this report contains forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the anticipated benefits of Evotec’s products and services, the payments that Evotec may receive under its collaboration agreement with Ono, the anticipated timing and results of Evotec’s clinical and pre-clinical programs, and other statements that are not historical facts. Evotec cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information as a result of risks and uncertainties. These include risks and uncertainties relating to: Evotec’s ability to satisfy the research-based milestones under the agreement with Ono, Evotec’s ability to complete the merger because conditions to the closing of the merger may not be satisfied; the failure to successfully integrate the businesses of Evotec and Renovis; unexpected costs or liabilities resulting from the merger; the risk that synergies from the merger may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; disruption from the merger making it more difficult to maintain relationships with customers, employees or suppliers; competition and its effect on pricing, spending, third-party relationships and revenues; the need to develop new products and adapt to significant technological change; implementation of strategies for improving internal growth; development, use and protection of intellectual property; general worldwide economic conditions and related uncertainties; future legislative, regulatory, or tax changes as well as other economic, business and/or competitive factors; and the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on international operations.

The risks included above are not exhaustive. The Registration Statement on Form F-4 filed by Evotec with the Securities and Exchange Commission contains additional factors that could impact the combined company’s businesses and financial performance. The parties expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in the parties’ expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Hamburg, Germany | Oxford, UK | Oslo, Norway - Evotec AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT) announced today that Spermatech A/S has chosen them as a partner to identify small molecule therapeutics for their pharmaceutical discovery project.

Through the study of the physiology of sperm motility, more specifically of “rapid swimmers” that cause fertilisation, Spermatech have identified bio-logical targets that could be exploited in the development of non-hormonal reversible male contraceptives. On this basis, Evotec and Spermatech have defined a strategy for a tailored drug discovery project. Evotec will apply its expertise and proprietary technologies in assay development, high throughput screening and NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) screening to identify inhibitors of the sperm specific target protein. The screening will be performed with Evotec’s screening library of 250,000 drug-like compounds. Compounds will be identified that reduce sperm motility and will be used in the development of non-hormonal reversible male contraceptives at Spermatech. In addition, compounds that promote target activity may be evaluated as supporters of male fertility.

Dr Mark Ashton, Executive Vice President Business Development Services at Evotec, said: “We are extremely pleased that Spermatech has selected Evotec for this interesting project. It will allow us to use our com-bined technologies in assay development, high-throughput screening and NMR screening to identify the most promising candidates in the therapeutic field. Evotec’s highly diverse compound library is a good starting point to identify such active molecules and the additional results from NMR investi-gations of the hits with the target protein will provide the medicinal chemists with useful information to support subsequent drug design.”

“We were impressed by Evotec’s highly specialized and integrated capabili-ties. The collaboration will provide us with access to state-of-the-art assay development and screening technology and expertise together with a high quality library of small molecules. We are confident that this will provide an excellent starting point and valuable information to progress the molecules into more advanced stages. We really appreciated that during the initial scientific discussions of the project Evotec clearly demonstrated a results-oriented spirit in support of our project:” commented Eirik Næss-Ulseth, Chief Executive Officer, Spermatech.

Forward looking statements
Information set forth in this report contains forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the anticipated benefits of Evotec’s products and services, the payments that Evotec may receive under its collaboration agreement with Spermatech, the anticipated timing and results of Evotec’s clinical and pre-clinical programs, and other statements that are not historical facts. Evotec cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information as a result of risks and uncertainties. These include risks and uncertainties relating to: Evotec’s ability to complete the merger because conditions to the closing of the merger may not be satisfied; the failure to successfully integrate the businesses of Evotec and Renovis; unexpected costs or liabilities resulting from the merger; the risk that synergies from the merger may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; disruption from the merger making it more difficult to maintain relationships with customers, employees or suppliers; competition and its effect on pricing, spending, third-party relationships and revenues; the need to develop new products and adapt to significant technological change; implementation of strategies for improving internal growth; development, use and protection of intellectual property; general worldwide economic conditions and related uncertainties; future legislative, regulatory, or tax changes as well as other economic, business and/or competitive factors; and the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on international operations.

The risks included above are not exhaustive. The Registration Statement on Form F-4 filed by Evotec with the Securities and Exchange Commission contains additional factors that could impact the combined company’s businesses and financial performance. The parties expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in the parties’ expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

HAMBURG, Germany and OXFORD, England and OSLO, March 12, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Evotec AG announced today that Spermatech A/S has chosen them as a partner to identify small molecule therapeutics for their pharmaceutical discovery project.

Through the study of the physiology of sperm motility, more specifically of “rapid swimmers” that cause fertilisation, Spermatech have identified biological targets that could be exploited in the development of non-hormonal reversible male contraceptives. On this basis, Evotec and Spermatech have defined a strategy for a tailored drug discovery project. Evotec will apply its expertise and proprietary technologies in assay development, high throughput screening and NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) screening to identify inhibitors of the sperm specific target protein. The screening will be performed with Evotec’s screening library of 250,000 drug-like compounds. Compounds will be identified that reduce sperm motility and will be used in the development of non-hormonal reversible male contraceptives at Spermatech. In addition, compounds that promote target activity may be evaluated as supporters of male fertility.

Dr Mark Ashton, Executive Vice President Business Development Services at Evotec, said: “We are extremely pleased that Spermatech has selected Evotec for this interesting project. It will allow us to use our combined technologies in assay development, high-throughput screening and NMR screening to identify the most promising candidates in the therapeutic field. Evotec’s highly diverse compound library is a good starting point to identify such active molecules and the additional results from NMR investigations of the hits with the target protein will provide the medicinal chemists with useful information to support subsequent drug design.”

“We were impressed by Evotec’s highly specialized and integrated capabilities. The collaboration will provide us with access to state-of-the-art assay development and screening technology and expertise together with a high quality library of small molecules. We are confident that this will provide an excellent starting point and valuable information to progress the molecules into more advanced stages. We really appreciated that during the initial scientific discussions of the project Evotec clearly demonstrated a results-oriented spirit in support of our project.” commented Eirik Naess-Ulseth, Chief Executive Officer, Spermatech.

Forward looking statements

Information set forth in this report contains forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the anticipated benefits of Evotec’s products and services, the payments that Evotec may receive under its collaboration agreement with Spermatech, the anticipated timing and results of Evotec’s clinical and pre-clinical programs, and other statements that are not historical facts. Evotec cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information as a result of risks and uncertainties. These include risks and uncertainties relating to: Evotec’s ability to complete the merger because conditions to the closing of the merger may not be satisfied; the failure to successfully integrate the businesses of Evotec and Renovis; unexpected costs or liabilities resulting from the merger; the risk that synergies from the merger may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; disruption from the merger making it more difficult to maintain relationships with customers, employees or suppliers; competition and its effect on pricing, spending, third-party relationships and revenues; the need to develop new products and adapt to significant technological change; implementation of strategies for improving internal growth; development, use and protection of intellectual property; general worldwide economic conditions and related uncertainties; future legislative, regulatory, or tax changes as well as other economic, business and/or competitive factors; and the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on international operations.

The risks included above are not exhaustive. The Registration Statement on Form F-4 filed by Evotec with the Securities and Exchange Commission contains additional factors that could impact the combined company’s businesses and financial performance. The parties expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in the parties’ expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Hamburg, Germany | Oxford, UK- Evotec AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT) today announced that InterMune, Inc., has signed a second drug discovery contract with Evotec.

Evotec will support InterMune’s research efforts using their medicinal chemistry know-how. In addition, they will utilize their expertise and technologies in computational chemistry, protein production, X-Ray crystallography and ADMET to further characterize active compounds and optimize their potency and selectivity to generate lead molecules for subsequent progression into clinical trials.

This contract expands Evotec’s existing collaboration with InterMune which was initiated in early 2007. This collaboration applies Evotec’s fragment-based drug discovery platform, EVOlutionTM, in combination with their ultra-high-throughput screening (uHTS) technologies to InterMune’s targets.  To date new lead series have been identified for further optimization. Evotec also provides medicinal chemistry, secondary screening, protein production, X-ray crystallography and ADMET. The financial terms include a technology access fee for access to Evotec’s fragment-based drug discovery platform, EVOlutionTM, plus ongoing research funding.

“With the support of Evotec, InterMune has made considerable progress in their Hepatitis C drug discovery and development program. We are pleased that InterMune saw the value in our proprietary fragment-based drug discovery technology and that it has contributed to the success to their research efforts,” said Dr Mark Ashton, Executive Vice President Business Development Services at Evotec.

Sunnyvale, CA November 15, 2007 - Labcyte Inc. will supply Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) with more than $2.3 million worth of Echo® liquid handlers for use in screening large biological libraries. The systems will be installed at both the Institute’s LaJolla, (CA) and Lake Nona, Orlando (FL) campuses. These instruments will be part of the world’s largest screening system and will bolster Burnham’s research and drug discovery efforts, which include research on cancer, neurological diseases, aging, diabetes, and obesity.

Burnham is one of the nation’s 10 collaborating centers of excellence funded under a special initiative created by the National Institutes of Health, which together comprise the largest public-sector drug discovery effort in history. The state-of-the-art Labcyte technology will improve screening results while reducing operating costs for Burnham and the collaborating network advancing this historical effort. The systems will be delivered over the next six months.

“The Echo liquid handlers were selected because their unique acoustic technology will enhance our ability to miniaturize assays, reduce compound waste, and meet throughput requirements,” explained Dr. Stefan Vasile, Director of the Chemical Library Screening Facility for Burnham Institute. “The Echo systems will be used for compound plate-to-plate transfer, reformatting, dose-response experiments and hit picking.”

“Our patented acoustic droplet ejection technology dramatically reduces waste while cutting operating expenses,” said Dr. Elaine J. Heron, Labcyte CEO. “Traditional liquid handlers are prone to poor precision and accuracy as transfer volumes are decreased. Researchers who require flexibility in their processes and biology find that the Echo systems provide that for them easily, quickly, and cost-effectively.”

Labcyte Inc., headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is the world leader in providing acoustic droplet ejection technology for pharmaceutical and life science applications. The award-winning Echo 500 series liquid handlers and Portrait 630 reagent multi-spotters are used in nine of the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies, as well as in leading academic and research institutions and contract research organizations worldwide. The Labcyte acoustic droplet ejection technology has broad applications including compound management, assays, arraying, particle manufacturing, imaging mass spectrometry, and live-cell transfer. Labcyte also provides a range of unique microplate consumables. Labcyte has 29 issued U.S. patents, 3 issued European patents and additional international filings. For more information, visit www.labcyte.com

Heidelberg, Germany, November 29, 2007 /b3c newswire/ — Graffinity Pharmaceuticals GmbH announced today that it has entered into its second drug discovery collaboration with Pfizer, Inc. Through the collaboration, Graffinity will provide Pfizer with access to its proprietary, fragment-based screening technology for use in screening Pfizer drug targets. The agreement is Graffinity’s sixth discovery collaboration since it was established as an independent company in 2006.

Kristina Schmidt, CEO of Graffinity, stated, ”Graffinity was established almost two years ago as an independent company to commercialize its proprietary fragment-based discovery technology. To have entered into six collaborations in such a short period of time highlights the outstanding progress we have made, underscores the potential both of our technology and business model, and positions us as a leader in this growing area of drug discovery.”

About Graffinity Pharmaceuticals GmbH - www.graffinity.com

Heidelberg, Germany based Graffinity Pharmaceuticals is a leader in the field of small molecule fragment based drug discovery. The company pursues high-profile drug discovery collaborations with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide. Graffinity employs a flexible business model which allows it to tailor programs to the specific needs of each partner and offers numerous benefits to its customers on a straightforward fee-for-service basis. Graffinity’s fragment screening platform combines chemical microarrays with a proprietary method for the standardized, label-free detection of compound-protein interactions via SPR imaging. The company’s rapid and scalable drug discovery technology explores a rich chemical universe to identify drug fragments which address challenging drug targets. With its 110,000-compound library that contains 23,000 true fragments, Graffinity possesses one of the most diverse fragment libraries. Graffinity has established collaborations with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners including Amgen, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Genentech, Pfizer and Merck-Serono.

Graffinity’s unique fragment based discovery platform has been invented in 1998, and has been in routine industrial use since 2002 in screening more than 60 drug targets.

Tampa, FL – Magellan BioScience Group, Inc. (Magellan), a pioneer in innovative drug discovery and development from marine microbial sources, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) announced today that they have entered into an anti-leukemia drug discovery collaboration. Magellan will team with UMDNJ scientist Dr. Scott Kachlany.
This collaboration will bring together Magellan’s unique collection of marine-derived microorganisms and their natural product chemistry expertise with Dr. Kachlany’s anti-leukemia screening technologies. Dr. Kachlany’s research group has developed a bioluminescent leukemia cell line that can be detected in whole blood and live animals. The Magellan-UMDNJ team will characterize lead candidates from Magellan’s collection by using bioassays and will optimize novel chemicals into preclinical drug candidates. Magellan’s expertise in various chemistry technologies will stimulate and accelerate early discovery efforts. Dr. Kachlany noted, “The fact that there have been little or no improvements in the survival rates for several forms of leukemia over the past 30 years underscores the need to identify and study novel anti-leukemia therapeutics.”
“We are excited to initiate this drug discovery collaboration with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey that will further validate our capabilities as a provider of novel small molecules and develop Magellan into a preferred First Class Discovery Company,” said Dr. Todd R. Daviau, CEO of Magellan. “UMDNJ’s scientific and technological approach powered by their highly qualified and organized research team constitutes a significant opportunity for the discovery and development of new anti-leukemia candidates.”

About UMDNJ:
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is the nation’s largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,500 students attending the state’s three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health, on five campuses. Last year, there were more than two million patient visits to UMDNJ facilities and faculty at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a mental health and addiction services network.

About Magellan:
Magellan BioScience Group, Inc., based in Tampa, Fla., is a privately held innovative biotechnology company focused on the discovery of novel classes of therapeutic candidates. Magellan is using its integrated platform technologies to isolate and identify new biologically active compounds. The company believes that its library of marine microbes will be the next source of drug discovery for the pharmaceutical industry. Magellan aims to develop and optimize drug candidates to treat cancer, infectious diseases, and inflammation. For additional information, please refer to the company’s web site at www.magellanbioscience.com.