Gemin X Biotechnologies and Sequoia Sciences Announce Drug Discovery Collaboration
San Diego, CA and Montreal, QC — July 1, 2002 — Sequoia Sciences (Sequoia) and Gemin X Biotechnologies (Gemin X) announced today their collaboration to discover novel apoptosis-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. This collaboration capitalizes on the proprietary technologies of both companies by combining Sequoia's collection of drug-like compounds and chemistry technologies with Gemin X's anti-cancer assays.
Under the terms of this collaboration, Sequoia will provide Gemin X with access to its compound collections isolated from plants and Gemin X will screen these collections using its proprietary apoptosis assay systems to discover apoptosis-inducing compounds. In addition, Gemin X will be responsible for downstream profiling, lead optimization, development and commercialization.
Sequoia has discovered an unmatched number of novel compounds utilizing its technology platform. This proprietary platform quickly identifies and characterizes novel compounds, giving discovery scientists unprecedented access to the unique chemistry of plants.
" Natural products have always been an important source of anti-cancer agents, and we believe Sequoia's libraries will prove valuable in the generation of new chemical leads", said Dan Giampuzzi, President and CEO of Gemin X. "As we expand our discovery program, our largest challenge becomes accessing the most promising sources of chemical diversity. Sequoia's libraries and advanced purification and characterization methods offer an attractive solution to this problem."
" Gemin Xs' team and technologies make it a leading player in anti-cancer drug discovery and in exploiting the apoptotic pathways." said Gary Eldridge, President and CEO of Sequoia. "Success in the drug discovery game is achieved by combining unique, validated technologies. We look forward to working with Gemin X to realize the quantity of novel anticancer compounds that this collaboration may yield."
Under the terms of the agreement Gemin X receives worldwide rights, with the right to sublicense, develop and market discovered compounds. Sequoia will receive an up-front technology access fee, research funding, development milestone payments, and royalties from the sale of products commercialized by this collaboration. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Anti-cancer therapeutics based from natural products account for 60 percent of treatments currently available to patients. It is estimated that 1.3 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in 2002.
Gemin X Biotechnologies Inc. specializes in the discovery and development of novel cancer therapeutics. The company's expertise is in apoptosis, or harnessing the body's natural defense against injured or damaged cells. Using its proprietary discovery platform, Gemin X has identified a family of small molecules that effectively inhibit the Bcl-2 protein, a validated drug target implicated in B cell lymphoma, breast, lung, prostate and colorectal cancer. Additionally, the company has programs dedicated to the identification of novel cancer targets and therapeutics; discovering small molecules that promote apoptosis in cells infected with latent viruses; and finding compounds that act against p53 independent chemo-resistant cancers. Gemin X, headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, was founded in 1997, and employs approximately 40 people.
Sequoia Sciences is a drug discovery company with an unparalleled collection of drug-like compounds isolated from plants. Based on current successes, Sequoia projects discovering more than 100 compounds with novel chemical structures on an annual basis. Sequoia, in addition to developing compound libraries, is also a product-based company that is actively out-licensing and developing novel antibacterial compounds. More information about Sequoia's technology platform, compound collections, and out-licensing program can be found at www.sequoiasciences.com
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