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December 19, 2002
For Immediate Release
Boehringer Ingelheim in multi-year collaboration
with Sagres Discovery to identify novel targets for
monoclonal antibody therapy in oncology
Ingelheim, Germany/ Davis, California, - Boehringer
Ingelheim International GmbH and Sagres Discovery have
agreed on a research collaboration to identify novel
oncology drug targets using SagresÕproprietary genomics
and bioinformatics technologies.
Under the agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim will receive
from Sagres exclusive rights to certain targets to develop
and market antibody and small molecule products worldwide.
Sagres will retain rights to certain targets and will
receive from Boehringer Ingelheim a significant up-front
payment, committed research funding, milestone payments,
and royalty payments generated from product sales. Financial
terms were not disclosed.
During the research collaboration, Sagres will apply
innovative mouse tumour biology and in vivo screening
technology coupled with powerful bioinformatics to identify
novel targets with a high degree of validation for functional
relevance. Boehringer Ingelheim will then develop monoclonal
antibodies and non-antibody products against selected
targets primarily in the area of oncology and will be
responsible for developing, manufacturing and marketing
products.
Wolfgang J. Rettig, M.D., Ph.D., Head of Boehringer
IngelheimÔs dedicated drug discovery center for innovative
cancer medicines in Vienna, Austria, said: "We are eager
to move beyond the initial, data-gathering phase of
genomics in drug discovery. Our partners at Sagres provide
smart solutions for functional cancer genomics, and
we see a nice fit with Boehringer Ingelheim's leading
position in biopharmaceutics."
David Ferrick, Ph.D., CEO of Sagres Discovery, noted:
"We are pleased to execute this agreement with a pharmaceutical
corporation as knowledgeable in drug discovery and development
as Boehringer Ingelheim. To collaborate with such a
partner is strong validation of our comprehensive forward
genetics approach to discovering genes causative for
cancer."
Boehringer Ingelheim
The Boehringer Ingelheim group of companies, headquartered
in Ingelheim, Germany, is one of the 20 leading pharmaceutical
corporations in the world. In 2001, it posted revenues
of EUR 6.7 billion. Boehringer Ingelheim, which has
some 140 affiliated companies in 42 countries worldwide,
focuses on human pharmaceuticals and animal health.
The human pharmaceuticals business, which accounts for
95% of sales, is comprised of prescription medicines,
consumer health care products, chemicals and biopharmaceuticals
for industrial customers. Research and development,
production, and distribution facilities are located
around the globe. In 2001, Boehringer IngelheimÕs R&D
spending was more than EUR 1 billion which is almost
a fifth of net sales in Prescription Medicines. For
more information on Boehringer Ingelheim, please see
the international website: www.Boehringer-ingelheim.com
Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH
Kerstin Felix
Corporate Division Communications
Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH
55216 Ingelheim
Phone: +49/6132/ 77 9040
Fax: +49/6132/ 77 66 01
e-mail: kerstin.felix@ing.boehringer-ingelheim.com
Sagres Discovery
Sagres is a discovery stage company dedicated to understanding
the molecular basis of cancer. Sagres DiscoveryÕs technology
platform combines the biology of cancer formation in
mouse models with the robustness of high-throughput
genomic technologies to enable discovery and clinical
validation of human cancer genes at unprecedented speed.
The Company is assembling the Oncogenomeª, one of the
most comprehensive sets of oncology targets in the world.
Of equal importance, the technology allows for the discrimination
between genes that cause disease and those that affect
or respond to disease processes. In addition to its
own internal drug discovery program, the Company is
building its initial product pipeline by selectively
using strategic partnerships and collaborations. Sagres
is located in Davis, California.
This
press release is made as a matter of record, and is
not intended, nor should be interpreted, as a recommendation
or solicitation to invest in any company or in any Axiom
entity.
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