Bio Screening Industry News

-Acquisition of Pacific Pharma Technologies Brings Proprietary Artificial Intelligence-Based Drug Discovery Platform and Novel Drug Candidates to Upstream–Initial Compounds Demonstrate Promising In Vitro Activity Against Devastating Parasitic Diseases Affecting 300 Million People Worldwide-

VANCOUVER, B.C., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Upstream Biosciences Inc. today announced it has completed the acquisition of Pacific Pharma Technologies Inc., an early stage biopharmaceutical company with a proprietary technology platform that combines artificial intelligence, advanced computational methods and chemical diversity techniques to discover new drugs. This technology has already generated novel compounds that in laboratory studies demonstrate both human and veterinary potential against major tropical parasitic diseases.

“This acquisition significantly broadens our strategic focus and provides Upstream with important new capabilities,” said Joel L. Bellenson, Chief Executive Officer of Upstream. “We believe the innovative technology platform pioneered by Pacific Pharma may have substantial commercial potential in a number of therapeutic areas and it fits well with our existing core competencies in computational-based approaches to biomarker identification. Pacific Pharma has also generated novel compounds that have exhibited activity against targets relevant to cancer, the focus of our biomarker programs.”

In screening studies in vitro, Pacific Pharma’s lead compounds have demonstrated encouraging signs of efficacy against leishmaniasis and African sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis). These parasites, which belong to a family of protozoa species that include Chagas disease and malaria, infect millions of individuals in Africa, South Asia and South America. Current treatments are often toxic, ineffective, inconvenient and expensive. In addition, recent reports document the spread of leishmaniasis to U.S. troops and contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. Upstream also intends to begin screening compounds against malaria shortly and to test compounds from related classes as potential therapies for tuberculosis. The millions of individuals affected by these two diseases are increasingly infected with multiple drug resistant strains, highlighting the need for new therapies.

Mr. Bellenson continued, “These parasitic diseases take an enormous personal, social and economic toll on communities in the developing world, affecting millions of individuals and also decimating the cattle herds that are an integral part of rural economies. We believe the growing interest in addressing global health issues makes this an ideal time to pursue new drugs for these devastating conditions, and we intend to work collaboratively with a variety of public and private organizations to ensure the timely and cost effective clinical development of drug candidates generated by our new technology platform. We also expect to pursue other therapeutic applications of this potentially powerful drug discovery technology going forward.”

Pacific Pharma’s proprietary technology platform takes existing compounds that have demonstrated efficacy against the target disease and uses artificial intelligence, computer simulation and pattern recognition techniques to identify key structural elements associated with their efficacy. Screening analyses and diversity generation chemistry are then applied to produce an array of potential drug candidates. The technology can also be used to identify novel applications for existing drugs. It was developed by Artem Cherkasov, Ph.D., a faculty member in the Department of Infectious Diseases in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. At the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston last week, Dr. Cherkasov gave a scientific presentation describing how this technology may be effective for the rapid identification of drugs that can be used to fight antibiotic- resistant “super-bug” pathogens or emerging new infectious agents.

“This technology is particularly applicable to these difficult-to-treat protozoan diseases because it does not require knowing the disease target a priori,” noted Professor Cherkasov. “By combining state-of-the-art computational approaches with advanced chemistries, we have already demonstrated that we can successfully produce novel compounds with good drug- like properties and the potential for enhanced efficacy and reduced toxicity. I look forward to working with Upstream to advance these promising new drugs into clinical development, as well as to exploring other drug discovery applications of the technology platform.”

Professor Cherkasov is an expert in computer-aided drug design, in applications of artificial intelligence to structure-activity modeling for bioactive substances and in the development of large-scale bioinformatics and genomics tools and molecular modeling techniques. He is a member of Upstream’s Scientific Advisory Board.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 300 million people are infected globally by these parasitic diseases, which are responsible for an estimated 2.8 million deaths annually and cause great suffering and economic hardship to millions more. In addition, the combination of global warming and increased migration is beginning to bring these diseases to the developed world. For example, the American Red Cross recently reported that in 2006 it detected blood-borne Chagas pathogens in 1 in every 3,800 blood donors in Los Angeles.

Terms of the acquisition include upfront and milestone payments. Further details were not disclosed.

About Leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis is a severe, geographically widespread parasitic disease caused by a protozoan flagellate and spread by the bite of infected sand flies. There are several different forms of leishmaniasis— cutaneous and visceral. The cutaneous type causes skin sores, while the visceral type affects internal organs such as the spleen, liver and bone marrow. Leshmaniasis is increasing in incidence with an estimated two million cases per year, and 350 million people in 88 countries are estimated to be at risk. More than 90% of the world’s cases of visceral leishmaniasis are in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan, and Brazil. Leishmaniasis is also found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. Visceral leishmaniasis can be lethal if untreated.

About African Sleeping Sickness (Trypanosomiasis). Sleeping sickness is a parasitic disease in people and animals caused by protozoa of the Trypanosomiasis genus and transmitted by the tsetse fly. The disease is endemic in regions of sub-Saharan Africa covering 36 countries and 60 million people. There are an estimated 300,000 new cases each year. Early symptoms include anemia, endocrine, cardiac, and kidney disorders. The symptoms of the second neurological phase give the disease its name; besides confusion and reduced coordination, the sleep cycle is profoundly disturbed. Without treatment, the disease is fatal, with progressive mental deterioration leading to coma and death. Damage caused in the neurological phase can be irreversible. Available treatments are toxic and require lengthy intravenous infusion and hospitalization. Trypanosomiasis also is a major source of serious illness in cattle and other livestock, which is estimated to cost the economies of sub-Saharan Africa about $4.5 billion annually from lost farm income and increased malnutrition.

About Chagas Disease. Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted to animals and people by triatomine insects. It is estimated that as many as 8-11 million people in Mexico and Central and South America are infected. If untreated, infection is lifelong and can be life threatening. Cardiac complications can include an enlarged heart, heart failure, altered heart rate and cardiac arrest, and intestinal complications include an enlarged esophagus or colon. The average lifetime risk of Chagas-infected individuals developing these complications is about 30%. Anti-parasitic medications are usually only effective when given during the acute stage. They can be very toxic, and resistance has already been reported. In the chronic stage of Chagas disease, treatment is limited to managing the clinical manifestations. The scale of the problem is highlighted by the fact that chronic heart disease caused by Chagas is now a major reason for heart transplantation surgery in South America.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains “forward-looking statements”, as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among others, the expectation and/or claim, as applicable, that: (i) Pacific Pharma’s technologies may have potential applications against major tropical parasitic diseases; (ii) Pacific Pharma’s technologies may have substantial commercial potential and such technologies fit well with the Company’s core competencies in computational-based approaches to biomarker identification; (iii) the Company intends to begin screening compounds against malaria and to test compounds from related classes as potential therapies for tuberculosis; (iv) the Company intends to work with a variety of public and private organizations to ensure timely and cost-effective clinical development of drug candidates generated by its technologies; (v) the Company expects to pursue other therapeutic applications of the technology going forward; (vi) potential drug candidates may be produced following application of screening analysis and diversity generation chemistry; (vii) technology can be used to identify novel applications for existing drugs; (viii) technology may be effective for the rapid identification of drugs that can be used to fight antibiotic resistant super-bug pathogens or emerging new infectious agents; and (ix) the Company may advance new compounds into clinical development and explore other drug discovery applications of the technology platform. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others: (i) the risk that the Company does not execute its business plan; (ii) the inability of the Company to keep pace with technological advancements in the field of genetic diagnostics; (iii) the Company’s inability to adequately protect its intellectual property or the Company’s inadvertent infringement of third party intellectual property; (iv) the Company not being able to retain key employees; (v) competitors providing better or cheaper products and technologies; (vi) markets for the Company’s products not developing as expected; (vii) the Company’s inability to finance its operations or growth; (viii) inability to obtain all necessary government and regulatory approvals; and (ix) the inability to effectively market and commercialize the Company’s technologies, including the establishment of viable relationships with third parties. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance those beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consider all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosed in the Company’s periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov.

ANN ARBOR, MI and KALAMAZOO, MI, July 31, 2007– Global Lifescience Solutions, an NSF International Company offering contract research services to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, today announced a new partnership with the Michigan High Throughput Screening Center (MHTSC).

MHTSC is a not-for-profit, contract research laboratory that provides assay development and state-of-the-art high throughput screening (HTS) services without licensing fees or royalties.  Through the new partnership, pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies can now take advantage of HTS screening offered by MHTSC and high content screening offered by GLS – capabilities that are critical in drug development and research.

“As more and more drug companies outsource their research and testing, our goal is to provide solutions that will expedite the drug development process,” said Aline Lindbeck, Ph.D., general manager, Global Lifescience Solutions.  “Our life-science organizations and state-of-the-art laboratories will position the State of Michigan as a leader in scientific research and high-tech screening services.”

Together, GLS and MHTSC will assist companies in identifying potential leads for drug discovery.  GLS’ high content screening services provide preliminary toxicity data on drug candidates as well as additional information on the mechanisms by which drug candidates may elicit their cellular response.

Companies that will benefit from the new collaboration include public research institutions, government institutions, and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies that conduct drug discovery work, as well as companies who do not have in-house high content or high throughput screening capabilities.

“Our mission at MHTSC is to provide access to state of the art screening technology and expertise,” said Rob Kilkuskie, Ph.D., senior director, Michigan High Throughput Screening Center.  “Our collaboration with GLS allows us to expand the characterization of the compounds coming out of our screens.  We believe this will greatly facilitate our clients’ drug discovery research.”

New service offerings under the partnership include:
Prescreening services – help companies cost effectively determine which targets should be fully screened Assay development – assay design and optimization Follow-up services – assist companies with follow-up screening and lead optimization High content screening – help companies examine multiple cellular targets and parameters in a large number of individually imaged cells and quantitatively assess the data

“The collaboration between GLS and MHTSC leverages the expertise and technology at each institution, and provides our clients an expanded array of screening services,” said Kathy Johnson, director of business development, MHTSC.

For more information on this partnership and new service offerings, please contact James Wallin, GLS at jwallin@nsf.org or 734-827-5630, or Kathy Johnson, MHTSC at kjohnson@kvcc.edu or 269-353-1560.

About Michigan High Throughput Screening Center: Michigan High Throughput Screening Center (MHTSC) at Kalamazoo Valley Community College is a not-for-profit company that provides state-of-the-art High Throughput Screening (HTS) technology to public research institutions, biotechnology companies, and large pharmaceutical corporations (http://mhtsc.kvcc.edu).  MHTSC identifies potential leads for drug discovery and develops chemical research tools to explore biochemical and metabolic pathways. MHTSC is a contract research laboratory, working on a fee for service basis. MHTSC is a member of the Michigan Core Technology Alliance (www.ctaalliance.org), a consortium of research laboratories with the goal of developing technologically sophisticated core facilities to enhance life sciences research and product development throughout the State of Michigan.

About Global Lifescience Solutions™, LLC:  Global Lifescience Solutions™, LLC, an NSF International Company, is a contract research organization (CRO) that offers integrated technical services for companies focused on product innovations in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, dietary supplements, food and nanotechnology (www.nsf-gls.com).  With clients ranging from innovative start-up companies to Fortune 100 and multi-national corporations, GLS provides comprehensive research services that address client needs for basic research, proof of concept, product regulatory registration, and field trials and validation.

Belgian biopharma firm UCB has this week selected ZoBio to provide ligand screening services for some of its targets in the field of fragment-based drug discovery.

ZoBio will undertake this task using its proprietary Target Immobilized Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Screening (TINS) technology.

According to ZoBio, TINS is capable of” rapidly generating high affinity, high specificity lead compounds with optimal drug-like properties” and allows “fragment-based screening of a much broader array of targets than competing technologies.”

Charles River Laboratories has been chosen by Akesis Pharmaceuticals to perform a 28-day renal-focused safety and toxicology study for its lead product candidate, AKP-020.

AKP-020 is a novel vanadium-containing compound that is being developed as a treatment for patients with Type II diabetes and, according to Akesis, “has shown considerable potential”.

“Charles River’s expertise in managing good laboratory practice (GLP) research studies is important to our ability to cost-effectively advance our drug candidates,” said Jay Lichter, president and CEO of Akesis.

Meanwhile, Charles River has now completed the previously-announced joint venture with Shanghai BioExplorer, resulting in a new company called Charles River Laboratories Greater China, Preclinical Services Shanghai Company, in which Charles River will own a 75 per cent stake.

Through this company, “we embark on the first phase of our initiative to become the leading global contract research organisation (CRO) providing regulatory-compliant preclinical services in China,” said James Foster, chairman, president, and CEO of Charles River.

The newly-built Shanghai facility is expected to open in the second half of 2008.

In other news, University of Queensland-based preclinical CRO, TetraQ, has announced it is now recognised to provide internationally-accredited testing services to the Australian biopharma industry, after having received GLP certification from the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) for one of its key laboratories.

TetraQ’s absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination (ADME) laboratory’s bioanalytical work will now be accepted internationally for regulatory review, meaning that new drugs being developed in Australia can be analysed there, rather than being sent off-shore, said TetraQ’s executive director, Professor Maree Smith.

BioServe Extends Genomics Services Platform with Premier Industrial Biobank for Biomarker Discovery and Validation

Beltsville, MD, May 1st, 2007 – BioServe, a leading provider of genomics services, today announced that it has acquired Genomics Collaborative from SeraCare Life Sciences, Inc. Genomics Collaborative is a leader in facilitating biomarker discovery and validation through its Global Repository®, a comprehensive library of 600,000 human DNA, tissue and serum samples linked to detailed clinical and demographic data from 140,000 consented and anonymized patients collected on four continents.

Through this acquisition BioServe significantly expands its pre-clinical product and service capabilities to provide organizations engaged in drug discovery and diagnostic development with a comprehensive “biomaterial to validated data” services platform. This service platform extends from molecular research products and services such as DNA and RNA purification reagents, DNA sequencing, oligonucleotide synthesis and genotyping to ready-made large epidemiologically sound case-control studies of inflammatory disorders, endocrine disorders, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity and cancers including breast, prostate, lung and colorectal.

“The acquisition of Genomics Collaborative firmly positions BioServe as a preferred partner for pre-clinical discovery and validation studies. Working with BioServe, drug discovery researchers have the flexibility to tap the Bio Repository to augment their in house sample sets, design entire genomic studies around our sample library, and further benefit from BioServe’s proven ability to process and analyze vast quantities of genomic content,” said Rama Modali, President, BioServe. “BioServe’s complete biomaterial to validated data approach will help researchers identify the genetics markers, biochemical pathways and drug targets that cause disease to accelerate the development of new and safer drugs.”

BioServe will continue to offer the GCI Access program™, which allows researchers around the world to access human DNA, RNA, serum and tissue samples with comprehensive informed consent and detailed clinical data, on a fee for service basis.

Genomics Collaborative will operate as a fully integrated division of BioServe, offering its DNA, tissue and serum Global Repository® samples to BioServe’s customers worldwide. The Genomics Collaborative clinical team, led by Vice President of Medical Affairs, George Taylor MD, has joined BioServe and will further add to the company’s expertise in genomics, epidemiology, biostatistics and molecular biology.

BioServe will be exhibiting at the BIO 2007 International Annual Convention as part of the State of Maryland pavilion.

About BioServe

BioServe provides a comprehensive ‘biomaterial to validated data’ genomics services platform, helping researchers gain the pre-clinical data for breakthroughs in drug discovery, molecular diagnostics and pharmacogenomics. Utilizing BioServe’s genomics services platform, researchers can identify genetic markers, validate drug targets that cause disease and correlate clinical data with molecular data to accelerate the development of new and safer drugs. BioServe’s services extend from nucleic acids processing, DNA synthesis, high throughput sequencing and genotyping, genome wide-scans and gene expression analyses to ready-made large epidemiologically sound case-control studies of inflammatory disorders, endocrine disorders, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity and many cancers. BioServe’s Global Repository® provides researchers with a library of 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. BioServe’s customers include leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and government and academic research institutions. BioServe has headquarters in Beltsville, MD and Hyderabad, India. For more information please visit www.bioserve.com or call 301-470-3362.

— Acquisition of BioFocus completed, integration progresses as
planned

— Galapagos year to date revenues 8% below last year’s revenues,
but cash burn in line with forecast

— Revenue guidance for 4Q ‘05 of 7.7 million, full year cash burn
of 7 million

— Strong cash position of 25 million on Sept. 30, 2005

— Management further strengthened with appointment of David Smith
as CFO

— New partnerships underscore competitive position in services
business

— Promising in vivo data on proprietary drug discovery programs
reported

— Galapagos rheumatoid arthritis target validated

— Optimistic outlook for partnering deals and library sales in 4Q

MECHELEN, Belgium, Nov. 10, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) — Galapagos NV (Euronext:GLPG) (LSE:GLPG) today announced its financial results for the first nine months of 2005.

Total revenue for the first nine months of 2005 amounted to 3.3 million, compared to 3.6 million in the first nine months of 2004, due to a decrease in custom adenovirus orders delivered in this period. The net loss for the first half of 2005 increased to 5.7 million from 4.3 million in the same period last year, reflecting stepped up R&D program investment. Cash and cash equivalents amounted to 25.1 million on September 30, 2005. “We have had an exciting quarter with the acquisition of BioFocus. We also have seen good service revenues but a slower custom adenovirus business. With our order portfolio, we expect to recoup some of these sales in the fourth quarter. We are optimistic on closing further deals this quarter, especially as we now have a joint sales offering with BioFocus. Consolidating their activities, we can give revenue guidance of 7.7 million for the last quarter of 2005. We have taken adequate cost control measures in order to offset the slower-than-expected third quarter sales; consequently, we remain on track to meet our full year 2005 cash burn guidance of 7 million,” said Onno van de Stolpe, Galapagos’ CEO. “Having seen the first very promising in vivo data from our rheumatoid arthritis program, we are excited about the progress in our drug discovery programs and expect to move forward rapidly toward demonstrating our first in vivo proof of concept.”

Key figures for first nine months 2005

(thousand, except net loss per share)

Sept 30, 2005 Sept 30, 2004 % change

Revenue 3,292 3,586 -8%
Loss from operations -5,812 -4,356 33%
Finance income 106 9
Loss before taxes -5,706 -4,347 31%
Taxes 32 5
Net loss for the period -5,674 -4,341 30%
Basic loss per share (Eur) -0.75 -0.73
Cash and cash equivalents 25,113 9,522

Details of financial results for first nine months 2005

Note: Consolidation of BioFocus results will start on October 12, 2005, to be published in Galapagos’ Full Year 2005 Results on March 3, 2006.

Revenue

Galapagos’ revenues for the first nine months of 2005 amounted to 3.3 million, a decrease of 8% on the 3.6 million recorded in the same period of 2004. Galadeno service division revenues amounted to 1.7 million for the first nine months compared to 1.9 million for the same period in 2004. Government grants in the period were 1.6 million compared to 1.7 million in the same period last year.

The decrease in service division revenues compared to last year is the result of fewer deliveries in the custom adenovirus business. Deliveries are expected to increase in the fourth quarter, allowing us to recoup some of these revenues. Following the BioFocus acquisition, we have decided to review the merits of pursuing medicinal chemistry work on the Alzheimer program in-house, thereby increasing the value of these targets. We have therefore decided to delay the out-licensing of the Alzheimer program, which is likely to decrease our fourth quarter 2005 contract revenues compared to the same period last year. Guidance for consolidated revenues for fourth quarter 2005 is 7.7 million.

Results

The net loss for the first nine months of 2005 was 5.7 million, or 0.75 per share, an increase of 1.4 million from the 4.3 million, or 0.73 per share for the first nine months of 2004.

Total research and development expenses in the first nine months of 2005 were 4.8 million, compared to 3.9 million in the same period 2004. The additional investment in R&D programs includes additional chemistry on our product development, including stepped up outsourcing.

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased slightly to 3.2 million in the first nine months of 2005 when compared to the 3.0 million in the same period of 2004.

Cash flow and cash position

A net increase of 14.8 million in cash and cash equivalents was recorded during the first nine months of 2005 (25.1 million compared to 10.3 million at the end of 2004). Cash used in operations was 5.1 million, on track for this year’s projected cash burn of 7.0 million. Furthermore, total lease payments made and investments in equipment amounted to 0.8 million. Galapagos raised 22.4 million in a public offering priced at 7 per share, amounting to a net cash contribution of 20.7 million. Galapagos’ cash and cash equivalents amounted to 25.1 million on September 30, 2005.

Corporate highlights

— Acquisition of BioFocus plc completed

— Listing on the AiM London

— Management further strengthened

— U.S. patent protecting target discovery platform

— Boston sales office opened

In September 2005, Galapagos announced an all share offer for BioFocus plc in the U.K. The strategic rationale for the offer was that BioFocus’ expertise in chemistry, lead discovery and lead optimization will greatly accelerate the progress of Galapagos’ programs and assist in Galapagos’ transition to a fully integrated drug development biopharmaceutical company. Additionally, the Enlarged Group would be well positioned to provide a suite of complementary biology and chemistry services to a broad base of customers, offering turnkey projects from target discovery to lead delivery.

Galapagos’ offer for BioFocus became wholly unconditional on October 17, 2005. Galapagos shares were admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (AiM) on October 20, 2005. On October 27, 2005, Galapagos announced that acceptances had been received for over 92% of the BioFocus shares, and the offer for BioFocus was closed.

Following the completion of the acquisition of BioFocus, a number of appointments were made. Chris Newton, previous Chief Operating Officer of BioFocus, and David Phillips, previous Chief Business Officer of BioFocus, have joined the Executive Committee of Galapagos as Senior VP BioFocus and Senior VP Sales and Marketing, respectively. Also as a result of the acquisition, Galapagos’ Board of Directors will be strengthened by Geoff McMillan, previous CEO of BioFocus and David Stone, previous Chairman of BioFocus, as non-executive Directors.

David Smith was appointed as Chief Financial Officer of Galapagos and will fulfill his role starting February 1, 2006. David joins from AstraZeneca Netherlands, where he was Chief Financial Officer.

Galapagos announced that its IP position was strengthened further by receiving its third U.S. patent for its target discovery platform. This patent protects the Company’s adenoviral gene knock-down (SilenceSelect(r)) and gene knock-in (FLeXSelect(r)) collections, the core of multiple target discovery deals with pharmaceutical and biotech companies as well as patient organizations.

Additionally, Galapagos has opened a sales office in Boston, U.S., as of November 1, to support its sales and marketing activities. This office is headed by Nathalie Joly, BioFocus’ Director Business Development, North America.

Operational highlights Partnering activities

— Chemical library supply and medicinal chemistry services deal
with Serono (Switzerland) (signed in fourth quarter)

— Target discovery alliance with High Q Foundation (U.S.) for
Huntington disease

— Research collaboration with Novartis Pharmaceuticals (U.K.)

— Research collaboration with Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics,
Netherlands Institute for Brain Research and Vrije Universiteit
Amsterdam

— BioFocus product offering broadened with two new compound
libraries and increased ion channel screening capabilities.

Galapagos is optimistic regarding the opportunities to close further partnering deals and library sales in the remaining period of the year.

Integration

With the acquisition of BioFocus, the integration with Galapagos’ partnering unit Galadeno is underway, and the integrated services unit now operates under the BioFocus brand name. BioFocus provides reagents and gene-to-preclinical drug discovery services to a broad base of customers throughout the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Several deal synergies and cross selling opportunities to our complementary client bases were identified and are being pursued actively. Galapagos drug discovery

— First in vivo results in proprietary rheumatoid arthritis
program — proprietary target validated

— Drug discovery collaboration with ZoBio, Pyxis and Leiden
University, supported by Dutch government grant of 1.2
million

— Alzheimer targets move into proof of principle studies

Galapagos focuses on bone and joint diseases to build a pipeline of new chemical entities to treat these diseases. The company’s most advanced drug discovery program is in the area of rheumatoid arthritis and focuses on proprietary targets whose modulation significantly diminishes joint destruction and where the medicine has a clear benefit over existing therapies. The market for autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, currently exceeds 7 billion and is expected to grow to 14 billion in the next few years. Galapagos started its drug discovery program 14 months ago. The in vivo proof of concept study currently underway investigates how a compound developed against one of Galapagos’ proprietary targets reduces paw swelling in a well-established mouse arthritis model. Our results today show a significant a nd important reduction in disease causing cytokines such as TNF-alpha, providing the first in vivo validation of a Galapagos target for rheumatoid arthritis.

The collaboration with ZoBio, Pyxis Discovery and Leiden University, which was announced in August 2005 has enabled Galapagos to take advantage of cutting-edge drug discovery technology in the progression of one of its proprietary targets in arthritis. As part of the 1.2 million government grant for the collaboration, Galapagos receives 550k in support of this program.

As further support to out-licensing efforts, we will combine the required expertise of BioFocus in medicinal chemistry with our proprietary Alzheimer targets, thereby creating additional value for these targets.

Conference call and webcast presentation

Galapagos will conduct a conference call open to the public today at 09.30 Central European Time (CET), which will also be webcast. To participate in the conference call, please call +32 2290 1608 ten minutes prior to commencement. A question and answer session will follow the presentation of the results. The live audio webcast can be accessed via Galapagos’ website at www.glpg.com, and will be available for replay a few minutes after the live version airs.

About Galapagos

Galapagos is a publicly traded, genomics-based drug discovery company (Euronext Brussels: GLPG; Euronext Amsterdam: GLPGA, London AiM: GLPG) that has drug discovery programs based on proprietary, novel targets in the bone and joint diseases — osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Galapagos offers a full suite of target-to-drug discovery products and services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies through its division BioFocus, encompassing target discovery and validation, and drug discovery services through to delivery of pre-clinical candidates. In addition, BioFocus provides adenoviral reagents for rapid identification and validation of novel drug targets and compound libraries for screening. Galapagos currently employs 193 people, including 74 PhDs, and occupies facilities in Mechelen, Belgium, Saffron Walden, U.K. and Leiden, The Netherlands. The partners of Galapagos include Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Organon, Serono, Vertex, and Wyeth. More information about Galapagos and BioFocus can be found at www.glpg.com.

CONTACT: Galapagos NV
Onno van de Stolpe, CEO
Tel: +31 6 2909 8028
ir@galapagos.be

Source: Galapagos Genomics

Cellomics Inc., hailed as one of Pittsburgh’s most promising life science start-up companies, has been acquired by Fisher Scientific International Inc., a firm with century-old Pittsburgh roots.

Hampton, N.H.-based Fisher, a maker of laboratory equipment, has been pushing aggressively into the life science arena with several acquisitions in recent years.

Fisher Scientific said it will pay $49 million for Cellomics, which had 2004 revenue of $13 million.

“We plan to build on what’s there in Pittsburgh,” said Fisher spokeswoman Gia L. Oei. The deal is expected to close later this month. Cellomics will continue to operate under that name as a Fisher subsidiary, she said.

Tribune-Review

SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 15, 2005–Novasite Pharmaceuticals Inc., a company focused on the discovery and development of allosteric modulators of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), today announced that it has acquired PsyCheNomicS, Inc., a drug discovery company focused on diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“The PsyCheNomicS acquisition provides Novasite with high-quality CNS drug leads, our area of therapeutic focus. Importantly, through this transaction we have also substantially augmented our management team with the appointment of Dr. James Hauske, a drug discovery and development veteran, whom we welcome as Executive Vice President of Drug Discovery,” commented Tim Harris, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Novasite. “These new compound assets complement Novasite’s existing pipeline and our core structure-function analysis and single-cell screening technologies. Novasite’s business model is to apply our powerful discovery technologies to promising leads and rapidly advance them into clinical evaluation to create value for our stakeholders.”

“This is a great opportunity to add value to an organization with differentiating technology in GPCR drug discovery and excellent science, and it is a pleasure to join such a team,” said Jim Hauske.

James Hauske, Ph.D.

Dr. Hauske joins Novasite from PsyCheNomicS, the CNS drug discovery startup he founded. While at PsyCheNomicS, Dr. Hauske developed technology to identify small molecule drug candidates that bind to distinct sets of disease-relevant molecular targets including GPCRs. Jim held executive positions at Beyond Genomics, Sepracor, Arris (now part of Celera), and Pfizer. He has extensive experience in medicinal chemistry and preclinical development, including the discovery of GPCR active drugs. During his 25 years in the pharmaceutical industry he has taken eight new chemical entities into clinical development including candidates that have progressed through various phases of testing and commercialization.

About Novasite Pharmaceuticals

Novasite is a drug discovery and development company with a pipeline focused on diseases of the central nervous system and other areas of unmet medical need. Novasite’s pipeline is enhanced by its understanding of structure-function relationships and the discovery of allosteric modulators for validated G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) targets. Allosteric modulators are compounds that affect GPCR function by binding at a site distinct from the natural ligand binding site and are believed to have a more effective mechanism of action than traditional therapeutics. Novasite’s technology base is comprised of a powerful receptor mutation-profiling methodology coupled with a proprietary single cell screening system that has been optimized to detect allosteric modulators.

Chelmsford’s Magellan Biosciences has acquired TekCel, a Hopkinton-based maker of sample-management and assay-automation systems for biomedical research. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

TekCel employs approximately 35 people, all of whom are expected to remain with the company, according to Magellan.

According to Robert J. Rosenthal, president and chief executive officer of Magellan, the acquisition of TekCel and its product line will allow the company to reach a market beyond the smaller enterprises.

Founded in 1998, TekCel’s modular, scalable family of products includes sample-management automation, liquid handling, software, and proprietary consumables addressing the researchers’ needs from archive compound storage through screening result.

Magellan Biosciences develops advanced instruments, automated systems, point-of-care products, and consumables for biomedical research and clinical diagnostics.

Boston Mass High Tech, MA

Complete pipeline of novel, competitive, clinical-stage products
addressing major in-hospital and out-patient thrombosis markets
— Extensive portfolio of pre-clinical and discovery-stage
programmes and platforms targeting cardiovascular diseases
— Complementary expertise with resulting competences in discovery,
development and commercialisation of small molecules and protein
therapeutics
— Blue-chip shareholder base (including 3i and HealthCap) and
strong management team

LONDON, and MARTINSRIED, Germany, April 11, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) — Trigen:

Trigen Holdings plc and ProCorde GmbH announced today that they have merged their interests into Trigen Holdings AG. The combination of Trigen and ProCorde creates a leader in cardiovascular drug discovery and development, focussing on thrombosis and vascular dysfunction. The company’s expanded product pipeline includes Trigen’s existing clinical stage candidates, TGN 255 and TGN 167, and ProCorde’s PR-15, which is expected to enter the clinic later this year. The company also has an extensive portfolio of exciting pre-clinical and discovery stage programmes targeting thrombosis, atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular pathologies. In addition it will benefit from two established discovery platforms, SIGSCREEN(r) and THROMSCAN(r) which have been applied in collaborations between ProCorde and a number of “Big Pharma” companies. The products, programmes and technologies have all been discovered in the laboratories of either Trigen or ProCorde, have been developed in-house and continue to be controlled by the combined entity.

Dr. Sanjay Kakkar, the current CEO of Trigen will become the new group CEO. Barry Knight Trigen’s Finance Director will become the group Finance Director and both will serve on the Management Board of Trigen Holdings AG. Dr. Goran Ando (previously CEO of Celltech) has been appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Board; the other members include Charles Klotz (representing Canasta Group Ltd), Dr. Magnus Persson (representing HealthCap) and Dr Erich Schlick (former head of R&D at BASF Pharma and representing 3i). The merged company will benefit from one of the strongest management teams in European biotechnology, drawing its Executive Management Team from the senior executives of both companies. The new company will maintain current sites in the U.K. and Germany for the foreseeable future.

TGN 255 is a novel intravenous small-molecule Direct Thrombin Inhibitor (DTI) being developed as a predictable and safer alternative for anti-coagulation in hospital settings. TGN 167 is an orally bioavailable DTI competitively positioned for outpatient anti-coagulation markets with blockbuster potential. PR-15 is a novel anti-platelet protein with the potential to treat arterial thrombosis occurring during acute coronary syndromes without the bleeding risk associated with existing agents.

The combined headcount of the new entity will be 50 with a broad and complementary array of skills enabling the company to execute efficiently programmes from early discovery stage through to late-stage clinical development and commercialisation. The merged company will benefit from in-house discovery and development expertise in small molecule and protein therapeutics, bringing together existing highly-skilled chemistry and biology teams in the U.K. and Germany.

Dr. Gotz Munch, ProCorde’s CEO commented, “We are delighted to have found such a complementary partner in Trigen. Cardiovascular diseases, and in particular thrombosis and vascular dysfunction are the world’s largest cause of premature death and disability. There is a real need for an industry champion to raise awareness and address the problem head-on through innovative research, drug discovery and development.” Dr. Munch will continue to lead the combined company’s operations in Munich and is a member of the Executive Management Team in the new company.

Dr. Sanjay Kakkar, Trigen’s CEO added, “The combination of Trigen’s and ProCorde’s pipelines, technologies and skills provides in a single biotech company the opportunity to target the key components of a major therapeutic area to produce competitive products with significant market opportunity. It is of interest that this has been achieved in Europe where the need for consolidation in biotechnology has been recognised for some time but finding a partnership that builds on strengths like this is rare and valuable. We are excited and positive about our future prospects and confident about building a great biotech success from this promising base.”

Dr. Sanjay Kakkar will be presenting the newly merged company at the BioSquare Conference in Lyons, France on Thursday 14th April at 4pm in Rhone 3A, Level 1.

Trigen was founded in 1992, initially to pursue a research programme on small molecule coagulation protease inhibitors conducted at the world-renowned Thrombosis Research Institute (TRI) in London. In 2002 it absorbed the drug discovery operations of the TRI and became a free-standing company. Trigen has subsequently successfully identified new drug candidates and taken them into clinical development and has expanded its operations to become a leading U.K. biotechnology company focussed on the discovery and development of novel drugs for the management of occlusive and inflammatory cardiovascular diseases. The lead programme, comprising a series of small molecule direct thrombin inhibitors (DTIs) for the prevention and treatment of thrombosis, is in clinical development in both intravenous and oral formulations. In addition Trigen has other programmes, focussed on thrombosis and ischaemia-related diseases, in preclinical development and discovery. For further information, please visit http://www.trigen.co.uk

ProCorde was founded in 2000 to exploit unique scientific knowledge of the human platelet brought to the company by its founders. Since then, ProCorde has successfully built two platform technologies, SIGSCREEN(r) and THROMSCAN(r) for the validation of new targets relevant to atherosclerosis, thrombosis and heart failure. ProCorde has successfully employed these platforms to offer target validation services to pharmaceutical companies worldwide. In addition, ProCorde began establishing its own proprietary drug pipeline focussing in particular on acute coronary syndrome and atherosclerosis. ProCorde’s lead programme, PR-15, is a lesion-specific anti-platelet agent with potential application in the treatment of acute coronary syndromes and coronary interventions. For further information, please visit http://www.procorde.de

Source:Trigen