Genome Express offers 10,000 free sequences to mark 10 years in DNA sequence analysis business

Grenoble, 24 September 2004 — GENOME express, leading provider of DNA sequencing services to the French market, announced today that it is offering 10,000 free sequences, the equivalent of five bacterial genomes, in a prize-draw open to all public and private sector researchers worldwide. Those wishing to try their luck should go to GENOME express's website www.genome-express.com from 15 October 2004.

GENOME express, founded in 1994, specializes in DNA analysis for customers in human and animal healthcare, pharmaceuticals, agri-food and academic research. It offers a team of experts, proprietary technologies, and an optimized process that together form a unique molecular biology and bioinformatics platform.

"GENOME express has built upon standard sequencing tools to develop a production-level sequencing platform that brings significant added value to our customers," said François Pons, director of business development at GENOME express. "Ten years of accumulated know-how and development activity have gone into our bioinformatics and other proprietary tools. We don't just offer raw data to our customers but relevant and reliable information. We like to say that we 'can help make DNA talk' for our customers."

"To celebrate our ten years in business, and to let people try for themselves, we are offering 10,000 sequences in a prize draw that will take place in December," he added.

Today several thousand customers use GENOME express services. Daily capacity has risen by two orders of magnitude and annual sequence data production is roughly equivalent to one third of the human genome.

In addition to the DNA sequencing activities, GENOME express provides solutions to complex challenges in the fields of comparative genomics and transcriptomics, food identification, particularly the identification of allergens.

The company expects to have ISO 9001-2000 certification in December this year.

"We are proud to have already achieved 10 years in business, an impressive record for a biotechnology company," said Warren Barton, CEO of GENOME express. "Our business is built on solid foundations with significant sales growth for 2004. We expect to continue growing, building on our core activity of DNA analysis to develop exciting new products and services in food identification/analysis."


About GENOME express
In business since 1994, GENOME express specialises in DNA analysis for customers in human and animal healthcare, pharmaceuticals, agri-food and academic research. It offers a team of experts, proprietary technologies, and an optimised process that together form a unique molecular biology and bioinformatics platform.

Using its DNA sequencing core business expertise, GENOME express has developed services and high value added solutions that allow its customers to interpret the data generated quickly and efficiently.

GENOME express also offers custom solutions including an R&D outsourcing facility covering many areas of molecular biology, such as genomic exploration, identification of new markers and bacterial identification.

For further information: http://www.genomex.com

Source: Genome Express

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Genome Express and Institut Pasteur sign partnership agreement

Institut Pasteur accord underscores added value of GENOME express's functional genomics platform for research teams in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agrifood sectors

Grenoble, France, July 27 2004 — GENOME express, developer and provider of high added value solutions in functional genomics, announces today that it has signed a partnership agreement with the Institut Pasteur. Under the terms of the agreement, the Institut Pasteur will be able to access the range of tools available on GENOME express's functional genomics platform, in particular in the field of bacterial genomics, under favorable conditions. The agreement applies to Pasteur's internal research programs. Financial terms are undisclosed.

For GENOME express, the deal means a highly credible endorsement of its technology platform, particularly in the fields of microbiology, as well as making the platform a widely used tool by scientists throughout the Institut Pasteur. The agreement also allows for future co-development of products and services that bring together Pasteur's biology expertise and GENOME express's technology platform for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agrifood industry customers.

The Institut Pasteur will benefit from the tools and technical know-how of GENOME express and the special access terms granted by GENOME express. Building on its knowledge and experience of sequencing and bioinformatics, GENOME express has developed and is now marketing proprietary methods in the field of genomics and comparative transcriptomics. These methods allow academic or industry customers to accelerate their research processes in areas such as the discovery of new molecular diagnostic markers, strain identification, identification of new targets, and adopting appropriate vaccine strategies.

"Institut Pasteur enjoys an international reputation for its work in microbiology and infectious diseases, and this agreement is an impressive endorsement of our technology platform," said Warren Barton, chairman and CEO of GENOME express. "It illustrates our commitment to providing real, significant and competitive benefits to our customers and helping them to optimize the value chain in the discovery process."

"We have already achieved useful research results by using GENOME express tools, in particular in the field of comparative genomics related to molecular epidemiology," said Stewart Cole, director of the Institut Pasteur Genopole. "This agreement opens up for us a range of new possibilities using GENOME express's expertise."


About GENOME express
GENOME express, Grenoble, France, is a leading provider of DNA sequencing services and also develops and markets a range of high value-added solutions for functional genomics. The company offers a unique platform that integrates innovative and proprietary tools for genomics, comparative transcriptomics (gene expression analysis). These tools are linked to an advanced bioinformatics platform comprising GenoStar for bacterial genomic exploration, Syn-Quence^TM for the discovery and identification of SNPs, and PepMap for the identification of proteins via the genomic mapping of mass spectrometry data. Building on its success and experience as a service provider, GENOME express is currently making its platform accessible to private sector researchers and academics. This will be done through partnerships with customers in the diagnostics, pharmaceutical and veterinary sectors enabling them to outsource their R&D projects either in part or totally.

For further information: http://www.genomex.com

Source: Genome Express

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Yves Rambaud, member of the Ipsen Group’s Board of Directors

Paris, December 22, 2003 — Mr. Yves Rambaud is appointed a member of The Ipsen Group’s Board of Directors. He is also a Board Member of the companies « LE NICKEL SLN » and GEODIS and he is Chairman of "La Fédération des Minéraux et Métaux" (Minerals and Metals Union). From 1991 to March 2003, he was Chief Executive Officer of ERAMET.

A graduate from both "Ecole Polytechnique" and "Ecole des Mines de Paris", Mr. Yves Rambaud started his career at the National Mining and Geological Service in Paris. From 1967 to 1971, he was successfully Manager, then Deputy General Manager of PENARROYA (mining and metallurgic company). From 1971 to 1974, he became General Manager Nickel Activity of "SOCIETE LE NICKEL (SLN)" (belonging to the same group as PENARROYA). When the company "LE NICKEL" became the IMETAL Group, he was appointed General Manager in 1974, then became Chief Executive Officer from 1985 to 1991 of "LE NICKEL SLN" (metallurgic company). At the same time he was appointed Vice President and General Manager, then Chief Executive Officer of ERAMET-SLN, which since became ERAMET.

About Ipsen

Present in over 110 countries with a total staff of nearly 3700, the Ipsen Group had a turnover of €718 million in 2002, 27.1% outside Western Europe.

The Group is focused on developing innovative products in targeted disease areas: oncology, endocrinology, neurology and haematology. Ipsen currently has over 20 products on the market, including those marketed to specialists in disease areas that represent the main source of Ipsen’s future growth, as well as predominantly natural-based products that represent the historical base of the Group’s business in other disease areas. In 2002, 18.2% of Ipsen’s turnover was reinvested in Research and Development, carried out from 4 centres: Paris, Boston, Barcelona and London by an international network of about 550 scientists.

The Group’s website is www.ipsen.com


Source: Ipsen

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Roche acquires rights to diabetes compound from Ipsen

Paris (France) and Basel (Switzerland), 21 October 2003 — Roche and Ipsen today announced that the two companies have entered into a second agreement, following the one concluded December 2002, this time for Ipsen’s diabetes compound BIM 51077. BIM 51077 is a Glucagon-like-peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue, currently in Phase I clinical studies for Type 2 diabetes. In addition to BIM 51077 itself, Roche has been granted rights to all future compounds to be discovered or licensed by Ipsen in this class of drugs.

According to the terms of the first agreement entered in December 2002, Roche already has worldwide rights, excluding Europe, to market Ipsen’s homocamptothecine class of compounds, a promising group of anticancer agents with lead compounds in development, such as diflomotecan and BN 80927.

"BIM 51077 is a very promising compound that will further strengthen our position in the diabetes market, with proven products such as Xenical," stated William M. Burns, Head of the Pharmaceutical Division at Roche, "We are very pleased to build upon our relationship with Ipsen. After just ten months of entering into our first collaboration, we have identified a further opportunity for collaboration. Working closely with partners and building upon existing relationships is a key business strategy for Roche."

"We are delighted to be signing a new agreement with Roche. This partnership, with such a highly respected company, confirms the quality of our research and reflects our corporate strategy to actively search for new alliances, particularly with quality partners," said Jean-Luc Bélingard, Ipsen’s President and CEO.


Terms of the Agreement

Under the terms of the agreement, Roche will have exclusive rights to market and sell BIM 51077 worldwide, except in Japan where Roche will share co-marketing rights with Teijin and in France where Ipsen has the option to co-market. Roche will reimburse the development and formulation work undertaken by Ipsen and will be responsible for all future clinical development. Ipsen will receive total payments of up to €202 million, consisting of €10 million in initial committed payments and additional payments contingent upon achievement of clinical, manufacturing, regulatory, and commercial milestones. Additionally, Ipsen will receive royalties on worldwide sales.

About BIM 51077

BIM 51077, a compound discovered by Ipsen Research and Development, is a GLP-1 receptor agonist, a new class of compounds under study for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Diabetic patients produce less insulin than non-diabetics, and clinical studies suggest that GLP-1 receptor agonists can increase insulin to near normal levels. GLP-1 incretin hormone is secreted naturally in response to food intake and acts to stimulate insulin production, suppress glucagon secretion, and slow gastric emptying in order to restore and sustain physiological blood glucose levels. The structure of BIM 51077 was optimized to provide extended duration of action while retaining the potency of the endogenous hormone.

Roche in Diabetes

Roche is committed to finding new medicines to treat metabolic diseases, with a strong emphasis on diabetes. In June 2003, Switzerland’s Federal Social Security Office (BSV) expanded reimbursement approval for Roche’s Xenical to include treatment of overweight Type 2 diabetics who are also being treated with one or more oral antidiabetic medicines. Xenical is the world's leading medicine for weight loss and weight control, and BSV’s expanded reimbursement approval underscores Xenical’s efficacy in treating overweight patients with Type 2 diabetes.

Roche is a leading supplier of products and services for diabetes monitoring and integrated diabetes management. Following the acquisition of Disetronic, the world’s second-largest manufacturer of insulin pumps, Roche’s diabetes portfolio will range from blood glucose meters for patient self-monitoring to sophisticated, programmable insulin pumps that allow patients to continuously administer insulin doses according to their individual needs. In 2002, Roche Diabetes Care, a business area of Roche Diagnostics, posted sales of 2.5 billion Swiss francs (+14% in local currencies), thanks to the continued success of the Accu-Chek product line.

Roche Business Development and Alliance Strategy

Roche’s research strategy is based on strong in-house research with centres in Japan, Europe and the USA and strategic alliances with Genentech and Chugai. Complementing and strengthening the Group’s dynamic R&D capabilities are over 50 scientific and commercial collaborations with biotech companies and universities, tailored alliances supplement these efforts in clearly defined focus areas. Roche has formed over 45 new partnerships, which span a wide range of therapeutic areas and technologies, making it an industry leader; a key element of this strategy is to enable its partners to achieve their vision while maintaining their cultural identity and entrepreneurial spirit.

Ipsen’s Active Search for New Alliances and Partnerships

Ipsen’s strategy for development is based on two main pillars: the high quality of its research and an active search for new alliances and partnerships. This new agreement with Roche reflects such strategy, validates the quality of the new molecules discovered by Ipsen’s researchers and confirms the Ipsen development model. Since January 2002, Ipsen has signed ten major licensing, research development and other partnership agreements and thus demonstrated its ability to form and develop alliances and partnerships with the leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The Group intends to continue this strategy in the future in order to enrich its product portfolio in its four targeted disease areas. These agreements help the Company to secure access to complementary technologies to those it already has, and at the same time provide new opportunities for international distribution, particularly in the United States and Japan.

About Roche

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world’s leading innovation-driven healthcare groups. Its core businesses are pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is number one in the global diagnostics market, the leading supplier of pharmaceuticals for cancer and a leader in virology and transplantation. As a supplier of products and services for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people’s health and quality of life. Roche employs roughly 65,000 people in 150 countries. The Group has alliances and R&D agreements with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai.

About Ipsen
Present in over 110 countries with a total staff of nearly 3700, the Ipsen Group had a turnover of €718 million in 2002, 27.1% outside Western Europe.

The Group is focused on developing innovative products in targeted disease areas: oncology, endocrinology, neurology and haematology. Ipsen currently has over 20 products on the market, including those marketed to specialists in disease areas that represent the main source of Ipsen’s future growth, as well as predominantly natural-based products that represent the historical base of the Group’s business in other disease areas. In 2002, 18.2% of Ipsen’s turnover was reinvested in Research and Development, carried out from 4 centres: Paris, Boston, Barcelona and London by an international network of about 550 scientists.

The Group's website is www.ipsen.com.


Source: Ipsen

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Octagen Corporation and Ipsen Commence Human Studies of Potential New Hemophilia Drug

Bala Cynwyd, PA., USA and Paris, France, September 4, 2003 — Octagen Corporation, a Philadelphia area biotechnology company, and Ipsen (formerly Beaufour Ipsen), a European pharmaceutical company announced today the start of a phase I human (clinical) trial of their recombinant porcine coagulation factor VIII for hemophilia A inhibitor patients. The drug, known internally as OBI-1, is being developed jointly by Octagen and Ipsen.

The phase I trial, to be conducted in up to 20 clinical centers throughout the United States of America and the United Kingdom, is designed to compare the safety and pharmacokinetics of single infusions of genetically engineered OBI-1 and the commercially available porcine factor VIII known as Hyate:C, a product derived from pig plasma and sold by Ipsen.

"A disorder that affects an estimated 350,000 people worldwide, hemophilia A is caused by a lack of a clotting factor protein known as factor VIII, a deficiency that results in periodic episodes of spontaneous bleeding" observed Richard Driansky, Octagen’s Chief Executive Officer. "These bleeding episodes are treated generally with replacement human factor VIII, which can either be genetically engineered or obtained from the pooled plasma of multiple donors. Approximately 25% of hemophiliacs develop antibodies or inhibitors to human factor VIII, which their immune systems see as foreign protein matter. As a result they can no longer be treated with human factor VIII" noted Mr. Driansky.

"Many inhibitor patients can be successfully treated with porcine factor VIII," said Dr. Alistair Stokes, Ipsen’s Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development. "The problem," added Dr. Stokes, "is that supplies of Hyate:C, the current commercial porcine factor VIII, have been constrained due to the necessity and difficulty of screening out extraneous material from the porcine plasma from which the product is derived. Since OBI-1 is a genetically engineered molecule, its production would not be hindered by that consideration" observed Dr. Stokes. "If proven safe and effective in clinical trials, OBI-1 would hold considerable promise both for hemophilia A inhibitor patients, as well as for so-called 'acquired' or 'autoantibody' patients. The latter group consists of individuals who do not have congenital hemophilia but who develop a severe and often life-threatening immune response to their own normal factor VIII" noted Dr. Stokes.


Notes to editor

Octagen

Founded in November 1997, Octagen’s mission is to develop and commercialize drugs to treat hemophilia and other disorders of the clotting process. OBI-1 was discovered by Dr. John S. Lollar, a renowned hemophilia researcher and Professor of Medicine at Emory University (Atlanta, USA). In 1998 Octagen entered into an exclusive worldwide license with Emory University to develop that drug. Later that year Octagen and Ipsen entered into an exclusive sublicense agreement, pursuant to which the two companies have been engaged in the development of OBI-1. Octagen, Ipsen, and Dr. Lollar have also been collaborating on an earlier stage project involving a recombinant and largely humanized version of factor VIII, OBI-2. That molecule is designed to reduce the incidence of inhibitor formation.

Octagen's website is www.octagen.com

Ipsen

Present in over 110 countries with a total staff of nearly 3700, the Ipsen Group had a turnover of €718 million in 2002, 27.1% outside Western Europe.

The Group is focused on developing innovative products in targeted disease areas: oncology, endocrinology, neurology and hematology. Ipsen currently has over 20 products on the market, including those marketed to specialists in disease areas that represent the main source of Ipsen’s future growth, as well as predominantly natural-based products that represent the historical base of the Group’s business in other disease areas. In 2002, 18.2% of Ipsen’s turnover was reinvested in Research and Development, carried out from 4 centers Paris, Boston, Barcelona and London by an international network of about 550 scientists.

The Group’s website is www.ipsen.com


Source: Ipsen

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Agreement between Teijin Limited and Ipsen for the development and the marketing of four Ipsen products in Japan

...and a new agent discovered by Teijin Limited in Europe Tokyo (Japan) and Paris (France), 7 July 2003 - Teijin Limited and Ipsen announced today the signature of a collaboration to develop and market four Ipsen products in Japan and Teijin's anti-gout agent, TMX-67 in Europe. As part of the agreement, Teijin will support the establishment of Ipsen’s presence in Japan with a mirror agreement for Europe. The collaboration foresees that sales of products in Japan and Europe will revert back to Ipsen and Teijin, respectively, in the future when the companies establish a local commercial presence.

The four products from Ipsen are a Glucagon-like peptide-1 analogue (GLP-1, code name: BIM51077) for which Teijin has been granted co-exclusive rights in Japan, a type 2-receptor selective somatostatin analogue (SSTR-2, code name: BIM23190), a parathyroid hormone 1-34 fragment analogue (PTH, code name: BIM44058), and a sustained-release formulation of a somatostatin analogue (Somatuline® Autogel®), for which Teijin has been granted exclusive rights in Japan.

Teijin will develop the analogues of GLP-1, SSTR-2, PTH and Somatuline® Autogel® as treatments for type II diabetes, diabetic retinopathy, severe osteoporosis, and acromegaly, respectively. By developing novel drugs having superior efficacy compared with competitive products currently under development, Teijin aims to provide patients suffering from these diseases with better solutions, taking advantage of Ipsen’s outstanding expertise in peptide technology and large molecule sustained-release formulation technology.

GLP-1 and SSTR-2 analogues are in phase I development and the PTH analogue is in preclinical development. Somatuline® Autogel® has been launched in several European countries including the UK and France, and is in phase III in the USA. Teijin will move forward with the development and sales of these products in Japan, in collaboration with Ipsen.

TMX-67 is a novel xanthine oxidase inhibitor discovered by Teijin with a novel molecular structure different from allopurinol, the only xanthine oxidase inhibitor currently available on the market. TMX-67 is expected to be safer and more effective than allopurinol at lower doses and is in phase III both in Japan (Teijin) and the USA (TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Lakeforest, IL). The involvement of Ipsen will make it possible to develop TMX-67 in parallel in the three territories, Japan, the USA and Europe.

"The addition of GLP-1 and SSTR-2 analogues and Somatuline® Autogel® to Teijin’s product pipeline will help the company to establish a first-class cardiovascular and metabolic disease franchise in Japan. The addition of the PTH analogue to Teijin’s existing osteoporosis portfolio including Bonalon® and Onealfa® will enable Teijin to provide a total solution in osteoporosis management, in which Teijin aims at being the leading company. This collaboration will also enable us to establish a basis for the expansion into the European market with TMX-67 in collaboration with Ipsen, which has a solid foundation in the European pharmaceutical industry." said Shigeo Ohyagi, General Manager of Medical & Pharmaceutical Business Group, Teijin Group Senior Executive Officer.

"Our strategy is based on an active search for new alliances and partnerships, especially to reinforce Ipsen’s internationalization. This collaboration with Teijin, a leading pharmaceutical company in Japan, will allow us to develop our presence in Japan, the world’s second biggest market" said Jean-Luc Bélingard, President and CEO of the Ipsen Group.


Notes to editor

Teijin Limited

1. Establishment:	June 1918
2. Head Office:	6-7, Minami-hommachi, 1 chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 541-8587 Japan
3. Capital Stock:	¥70.787 billion (as of March 31, 2003)
4. Representative:	President & CEO Toru Nagashima
5. Number of Employees:	Consolidated 23,265 (as of March 31, 2003) Non-consolidated 2,938 (as of March 31, 2003)
6. Sales:	Consolidated ¥890.4 billion (Fiscal Year ended March 2003) Non-consolidated ¥127.4 billion (Fiscal Year ended March 2003)

7. Description of Business:
Teijin’s main areas of activity are the production and sales of fibres, chemicals and plastics, pharmaceuticals and medical products, as well as the home healthcare business. With respect to pharmaceuticals and medical products, Teijin has focused on respiratory, disease, bone calcium metabolism and cardiovascular / metabolism disorders, and markets throughout Japan. In the home health care field, Teijin is engaged in the home oxygen therapy business, marketing its oxygen concentrators throughout Japan.

The Group’s website is http://www.teijin.co.jp

Ipsen

Present in over 110 countries with a total staff of nearly 3700, the Ipsen Group had a turnover of €718 million in 2002, 27.1% outside Western Europe.

The Group is focused on developing innovative products in targeted disease areas: oncology, endocrinology, neurology and hematology. Ipsen currently has over 20 products on the market, including those marketed to specialists in disease areas that represent the main source of Ipsen’s future growth, as well as predominantly natural-based products that represent the historical base of the Group’s business in other disease areas. In 2002, 18.2% of Ipsen’s turnover was reinvested in Research and Development, carried out from 4 centers Paris, Boston, Barcelona and London by an international network of about 550 scientists.

The Group’s website is www.ipsen.com


Source: Ipsen

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Ipsen research discovers a family of specific analogues of ghrelin, a hormone implicated in weight control

Paris, 24 June 2003. The 'Beaufour Ipsen' pharmaceutical group, renamed 'Ipsen', announced at the 85th Annual Meeting of The Endocrine Society held from 19 June to 22 June in Philadelphia (USA) that it has discovered a family of specific analogues of ghrelin, a hormone implicated in weight control, which, for the first time, do not stimulate growth hormone secretion.

Changes in body weight represent a major and increasing public health problem. The prevalence of obesity in the USA is 27.7% in men and 34% in women in the 20-74 year age group (source: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2000); whereas in most European countries it is approximately 10-20% in men and 15-25% in women (source: Danish National Board of Health Conference on Obesity, September 2002). Significant weight loss or cachexia is also an increasing cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly, and persons with congestive heart failure or in some cancers.

Ghrelin is secreted by the stomach and stimulates the appetite. It has recently received media attention because high blood levels of ghrelin have been observed in individuals following weight loss from dieting, which may partially explain the difficulty in maintaining diet-induced weight loss. Ghrelin levels remain low in patients who have lost weight by undergoing gastric bypass surgery, and, again, this may partially explain the lack of appetite in these individuals. All these observations open the way to the research of new drugs which can treat weight pathologies such as the ghrelin agonists for cachexia and ghrelin antagonists for obesity.

Ghrelin also stimulates growth hormone and prolactin secretions by the pituitary gland, and cortisol and aldosterone secretion by the adrenal glands. If these additional effects can be desirable in certain pathologies, often they will lead to secondary effects in other pathologies (for example: augmentation of growth hormone is not desirable in the elderly with diabetes or in persons with cancer).

In this context, Ipsen research has for the first time synthesised a unique modified version of ghrelin analogues which conserves its regulator effect on appetite, but does not stimulate growth hormone secretion.

This discovery advances the possibility of producing ghrelin-based drugs for regulating appetite and body weight. For the first time this also suggests that differences may exist at the ghrelin receptor levels in different target tissues, which opens up a new field of research. This provides unique tools for researchers to increase the knowledge of ghrelin regulation and human body weight control.

This discovery has been made by Biomeasure Inc. (Boston, USA), one of four research centres of the Ipsen Group to discover drugs in neuroendocrinology. "This important discovery highlights the quality of our research in neuroendocrinology and our capacity to generate innovative molecules in this therapeutic area. At present, we are conducting pre-clinical tests on selected ghrelin analogues in order to enter them in the clinical evaluation phase in the near future" said Jacques-Pierre Moreau, Ipsen's CSO.


Ipsen

Present in over 110 countries with a total staff of nearly 3700, the Ipsen Group had a turnover of €718 million in 2002, 27.1% outside Western Europe.

The Group is focused on developing innovative products in targeted disease areas: oncology, endocrinology, neurology and hematology. Ipsen currently has over 20 products on the market, including those marketed to specialists in disease areas that represent the main source of Ipsen’s future growth, as well as predominantly natural-based products that represent the historical base of the Group’s business in other disease areas. In 2002, 18.2% of Ipsen’s turnover was reinvested in Research and Development, carried out from 4 centers Paris, Boston, Barcelona and London by an international network of about 550 scientists.

The Group’s website is www.ipsen.com


Source: Ipsen

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Ipsen to develop Spirogen’s novel anti-tumour agent

Paris and London, 22 May 2003. The "Beaufour Ipsen" pharmaceutical group, renamed "Ipsen", has acquired worldwide rights to develop a new and novel antitumour agent SJG-136, from Spirogen, a London-based biotechnology company. The agreement also provides Ipsen with exclusive access to three, selected gene targets as a platform for the synthesis and development of further anti-cancer drug candidates and a 20 percent equity stake in Spirogen.

SJG-136 spans six base pairs of DNA and has significant activity in a number of human tumour xenograft (animal) models including brain melanoma, breast, ovarian and colon tumours. The agent is currently in pre-clinical development with Cancer Research, UK and the National Cancer Institute in the United States of America (USA). Phase I clinical trials are planned for the third quarter of 2003 in the United Kingdom and the fourth quarter in the United States of America (USA).

Commenting on the agreement, Dr Alistair Stokes, Ipsen’s Executive Vice President, Corporate Development said: "We believe that SJG-136 has the potential to be an important addition to the anti-cancer therapeutic armoury. This agreement, after the one concluded with Roche last December, reflects the Group’s policy of seeking alliances that will help us gain access to new products and technologies in our core therapeutic areas".

Dr Chris Martin, CEO of Spirogen said: "The development of chemotherapeutics which target specific genes represents the cutting edge of molecular research. We are delighted to be working with Ipsen to develop such compounds for the oncology market. This agreement is in line with Spirogen’s strategy of developing drug candidates and its gene targeting technology in partnership with pharmaceutical companies while taking forward its own anti-cancer DNA sequence binding agents".


Notes to editor

Ipsen

Present in over 110 countries with a total staff of nearly 3700, the Ipsen Group had a turnover of €718 million in 2002, 27.1% outside Western Europe.

The Group is focused on developing innovative products in targeted disease areas: oncology, endocrinology, neurology and hematology. Ipsen currently has over 20 products on the market, including those marketed to specialists in disease areas that represent the main source of Ipsen’s future growth, as well as predominantly natural-based products that represent the historical base of the Group’s business in other disease areas. In 2002, 18.2% of Ipsen’s turnover was reinvested in Research and Development, carried out from 4 centers Paris, Boston, Barcelona and London by an international network of about 550 scientists.

The Group’s website is www.ipsen.com

Spirogen

Spirogen is a privately owned UK company, founded in 2001 by Professor David Thurston and Dr Phillip Howard (now at the School of Pharmacy, University of London), Professor John Hartley (University College London) and Dr Chris Martin. The company is pioneering the discovery and development of a unique class of low molecular weight sequence-specific DNA-interactive drugs designed to treat gene-mediated diseases.

Spirogen’s proprietary combinatorial chemistry-based platform technology forms the basis of a research effort that began over a decade ago to develop novel therapeutics with potential application in a number of markets. Spirogen’s initial investors were: Cambridge Research Bioventures (lead investor), Xenva Ltd, CRIL and Bloomsbury Bioseed Fund.

Spirogen's website is www.spirogen.com


Source: Ipsen

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Agreement between Beaufour Ipsen and Novartis Pharma for the marketing of two anti-hypertensive drugs, Nisis® and Nisisco® in France

Paris, May 14, 2003 — The Beaufour Ipsen Group announced today the singning in France of a marketing agreement with Novartis Pharma for two antihypertensive drugs Nisis® (valsartan) and Nisisco® (valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide). Since March 31, 2003, Beaufour Ipsen Pharma, the French subsidiary of the Group, promotes these products in France, its overseas departments and territories and in the Principalities of Monaco and Andorra. These two drugs were previously distributed by Aventis.

Already involved in the treatment of hypertension with Tenstaten® (cicletanine), this agreement reinforces Beaufour Ipsen’s expertise in cardiovascular diseases in these territories. This is also consistent with the Group’s strategy to strenghten its international development based on a solid position in France.

According to Christophe Jean, Executive Vice-President, Chief Operating Officer, Beaufour Ipsen Group "We are pleased to collaborate with Novartis Pharma, one of the world leaders in the treatment of arterial hypertension, a disease which affects 7.5 million people treated in France today. This agreement adds two major innovative medicines to our portfolio that have significant medical and scientific vcardiovascular field".

In 2002, Nisis and Nisisco had a turnover of more than €24 million (source : GERS), enhanced by the launch of Nisisco® 160-25 (160 mg of valsartan and 25 mg of hydrochlorothiazide) last February, which complements the product line already available to physicians.

These drugs are being further evaluated in a broad based clinical program with the participation of more than 38,000 patients. The purpose of the ongoing studies is to extend the present indications to hypertension post-infarct, and arterial hypertension associated with cardiovascular risks.


Notes to editor

Nisis®/Nisisco®

Nisis® and Nisisco® belong to the family of angiotensin II antagonists, representing the leading edge in the treatment of hypertension with the prospect of expanding their use.

Nisis® (active ingredient: valsartan) is indicated in the treatment of essential arterial hypertension (40 mg, 80 mg, 160 mg, packs of 28). Nisisco® 80 - 12,5 (80 mg of valsartan and 12,5 :mg of hydrochlorothiazide, packs of 28) is indicated after failure of a monotherapy by an angiotensin II antagonist or by hydrochlorothiazide and Nisisco 160 – 25 is indicated when a monotherapy by Nisis 160 or by the combination Nisisco 80 - 12.5 is insufficient.

Beaufour Ipsen

Present in over 80 countries with a total staff of 3423, the Beaufour Ipsen Group had a turnover of €704 million in 2001, 57% of which was outside France.

The Group specialises in oncology, haematology, neurology and endocrinology and has a portfolio of 30 products which are either peptides, derived from biotechnology, or based on natural sources. In 2001, 16.4% of Beaufour Ipsen’s turnover was reinvested in Research and Development (R&D).

The Group’s website is www.beaufour-ipsen.com


Source: Ipsen

[Read more!]

Christophe Jean, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer of the Beaufour Ipsen Group

Paris, May 13, 2003 — Mr Christophe Jean is nominated Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer of the Beaufour Ipsen Group. Christophe Jean, 47 years old and a Harvard graduate, joined the pharmaceutical industry with Ciba-Geigy where he successively occupied Marketing (Brazil & Sweden) and General Management positions at an international level. He was subsequently nominated Worldwide Head of Financial Control and Information Technology and was a Member of the Pharmaceuticals Executive Committee. He held that position until after the merger between Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz to form Novartis and was then nominated Head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 2000 he became President and CEO for the pharmaceutical activities of the Pierre Fabre Group.

In September 2002 he joined the Beaufour Ipsen Group where he was initially in charge of creating the Corporate Strategic Planning and Strategic Marketing departments. He is a Member of the Executive Committee and also oversees commercial operations and the development of the US and Japan markets.

About Beaufour Ipsen

Present in over 80 countries with a total staff of 3423, the Beaufour Ipsen Group had a turnover of €704 million in 2001, 57% of which was outside France.

The Group develops products for four targeted disease area franchises: oncology, endocrinology, neurology and haematology. It currently has a portfolio of 30 products on the market which are either peptides, derived from biotechnology, or products based on natural sources. In 2001, 16.4% of Beaufour Ipsen's turnover was reinvested in Research and Development, which is carried out in four research centres (Paris, Boston, Barcelona and London) by an international network of around 500 scientific staff.

The Group’s website is www.beaufour-ipsen.com


Source: Ipsen

[Read more!]

Beaufour Ipsen obtains the European Marketing Authorisation for NutropinAQ®, recombinant growth hormone

Paris, 18 March 2003 — The Beaufour Ipsen Group announced today that the company has obtained European Marketing Authorisation from the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) on 24 February, 2003 for Nutropin AQ%reg; (somatropin [rDNA origin] solution for injection). The approved name in Europe is NutropinAq. This decision comes after the agreement signed in September 2002 with Genentech, a USA biotechnology company giving Beaufour Ipsen exclusive rights to market Nutropin AQ® and Nutropin AQ PenTM Cartridge in Europe and the rest of the world, excluding North America and Japan.

Nutropin AQ® is produced using recombinant DNA technology and has the same amino acid sequence as human growth hormone (GH) produced naturally in the human body. Nutropin AQ® is used for the treatment of GH deficiency, which occurs when the production of GH secreted by the pituitary gland, is disrupted.

"Pituitary-related endocrine disorders are a key therapeutic area for Beaufour Ipsen. This collaboration with Genentech has added an important product to our portfolio", said Dr Alistair Stokes, Group Vice-President, Corporate Development, Beaufour Ipsen.

Nutropin AQ® is the first ready-to-use liquid GH formulation approved in the USA and is supplied as 10mg of sterile liquid somatropin per vial or cartridge for exclusive use with the Nutropin AQ Pen^TM.

Beaufour Ipsen is preparing to submit the requisite regulatory dossier to gain approval to market Nutropin AQ Pen^TM Cartridge for use with the Nutropin AQ Pen^TM.

"We are pleased to collaborate with Beaufour Ipsen to market Nutropin AQ® and Nutropin AQ Pen^TM in Europe", said Joseph S. McCracken, Vice-President, Business and Commercial Development of Genentech. "This agreement continues our efforts in providing our family of growth hormone products to patients throughout the world".


Notes to editor

Beaufour Ipsen

Present in over 80 countries with a total staff of 3423, the Beaufour Ipsen Group had a turnover of €704 million in 2001, 57% of which was outside France.

The Group specialises in oncology, haematology, neurology and endocrinology and has a portfolio of 30 products which are either peptides, derived from biotechnology, or based on natural sources. In 2001, 16.4% of Beaufour Ipsen’s turnover was reinvested in Research and Development (R&D).

The Group’s website is www.beaufour-ipsen.com

Genentech

Genentech is a leading biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercialises biotherapeutics for significant unmet medical needs. Fifteen of the currently approved biotechnology products originated from or are based on Genentech science.

Genentech manufactures and commercialises ten biotechnology products directly in the USA. The company has headquarters in South San Francisco, California and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DNA.

NutropinAq

NutropinAq is indicated for the treatment of:

• Long-term treatment of children with growth failure due to inadequate endogenous GH secretion
• Long-term treatment of growth failure associated with Turner syndrome
• Treatment of prepubertal children with growth failure associated with chronic renal insufficiency up to the time of renal transplantation
• Replacement of endogenous GH in adults with GH deficiency of either childhood or adult-onset aetiology. GH deficiency should be confirmed appropriately prior to treatment

Source: Ipsen

[Read more!]

New laboratory system at Genome Express brings speed, flexibility and improved cost performance to DNA sequencing

Grenoble, France, February 25, 2003 — GENOME express, the developer of high value-added solutions for functional genomics and target discovery has installed new sophisticated high performance hardware and software in its laboratories to ensure it continues to offer its clients the best and most cost-effective approaches to target discovery and validation, the company announced today. The new equipment is the Zymark Sciclone ALH, an Advanced Liquid Handling workstation that speeds up laboratory research by automating liquid handling and microplate management.

"The acquisition and installation of the Sciclone is part of our continuous policy of providing an internationally-competitive platform for the benefit of our customers and partners," said Jean-François Mouret, Chief Technical Officer at GENOME express. "The Sciclone brings speed and increases the flexibility in our sequencing and fragment analysis process from DNA template to purified and ready to load DNA products."

The Sciclone ALH is a high precision, easy-to-use instrument that performs a host of functions that previously required several separate devices. The new system will bring benefits to GENOME express customers and partners in many of the wide range of activities offered by the company. For example, GENOME express has recently launched a major new technology called DACS (Discriminative Analysis of Clone Signature). GENOME express is initially using DACS for the study of gene expression, but the company will also use it far more widely in genomics generally. "Examples include genome sequencing finishing and structural differential genome analysis," said Mouret. "All these applications will take advantage of the throughput, reproducibility and traceability provided by the Sciclone workstation. Our clients will save time and money directly from being able to access this technology."

"We are delighted to have GENOME express among the international users of the Sciclone," said Kevin Hrusovsky CEO at Zymark. "Coupled with the company's know-how in functional genomics, it will help give them a competitive edge in this burgeoning market."

It supplies eight-channel independent Z-axis probes, "on-the-fly" interchangeable 96 and 384 arrays, a compact 20-position deck, bulk dispensing capabilities and a unique design that offers effortless integration with other devices from all four sides of the system. The Sciclone ALH uses Zymark's CLARA^TM software to ensure evolving laboratory requirements are completed with as little effort as possible.


About Zymark
Zymark is a leading provider of automation solutions serving the worldwide life science, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. The company has introduced new automation paradigms that have empowered scientists to raise laboratory research to a new, more industrialized level. With these advances, Zymark has firmly established itself as a solutions provider with a single-minded goal of streamlining the entire drug discovery pipeline. Zymark provides direct sales, service and applications support throughout the world and hosts the annual ISLAR conference on laboratory automation. For more information about Zymark Corporation and its products, visit www.zymark.com

About DACS
DACS (Discriminative Analysis of Clone Signature) is the new proprietary technology provided by GENOME express. The technology, based on EST sequencing reduces cost while offering the same advantages. DACS marks only one nucleotide of the four composing DNA — A, C, G, T — and includes a capillary multiplex sequencing thus offering high-throughput (1536 samples per run). A patented signal analysis technology applied on sequencing results discriminates identical clones from the different ones, thus allowing the discovery of genes expressed.

For further information: http://www.genomex.com

About GENOME express
GENOME express, Grenoble, France, develops and markets high value-added solutions for functional genomics. The company offers a unique platform that integrates proprietary tools for genomics (discovery and identification of SNPs — Syn-Quence^TM), transcriptomics (gene expression analysis), and proteomics (identification of proteins using genome mapping of mass spectrometry data — Pep Map^TM). Building on its success and experience as a service provider, GENOME express is currently making its platform accessible to private sector researchers and academics in the biopharmaceutical sector. This will be done through partnerships and enable GENOME express customers to outsource their R&D projects either in part or totally. The company is also developing its own research to discover new targets for therapeutic or diagnostic applications in the fields of metabolic diseases such as diabetes or obesity, the central nervous system and bacterial genomics.

For further information: http://www.genomex.com

Source: Genome Express

[Read more!]

Appointment of Mrs Claire Giraut as Chief Financial Officer of the Beaufour Ipsen Group

Paris, 5 February 2003 — Mrs Claire Giraut was appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Beaufour Ipsen Group and, as Group Vice-President, Finance, Member of the Executive Committee. The Company Secretary and the Head of Group’s Information Systems (MIS) will also report directly to Mrs Giraut.

Mrs Claire Giraut, 46, qualified as a Biotech Engineer. Her career has mainly been in Finance. Among her most recent assignments, she was Senior Executive VP Finance of the Coflexip Stena Offshore Group, world leader in subsea oil services, listed in France and in the USA.

About Beaufour Ipsen

Present in over 80 countries with a total staff of 3423, the Beaufour Ipsen Group had a turnover of €704 million in 2001, 57% of which was outside France.

The Group develops products for four targeted disease area franchises: oncology, endocrinology, neurology and haematology. It currently has a portfolio of 30 products on the market which are either peptides, derived from biotechnology, or products based on natural sources. In 2001, 16.4% of Beaufour Ipsen's turnover was reinvested in Research and Development, which is carried out in four research centres (Paris, Boston, Barcelona and London) by an international network of around 500 scientific staff.

The Group’s website is www.beaufour-ipsen.com


Source: Ipsen

[Read more!]

Reinforcing Ipsen's presence on the American market clinical programme is underway for Ipsen's botulinum toxin in aesthetic medicine with Inamed

Ipsen Limited, the UK-based pharmaceutical company and subsidiary of the Beaufour Ipsen Group has announced the beginning of Phase II clinical trials in the United States of America (USA) on its botulinum toxin type A for use in aesthetic medicine. "Patients have now been enrolled and are being treated in this important study of botulinum toxin" said Dr Gary Monheit, a Dermatologist in Birmingham, Alabama, and Co-Principal Investigator in the study.

This announcement follows the filing of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application in September 2002, and the signing in July 2002 of a definitive agreement with Inamed Corporation, a global medical device company based in California. The agreement gives Inamed exclusive rights to develop and distribute Ipsen’s botulinum toxin type A for cosmetic indications in the USA, Canada and Japan.

In the past few years, botulinum toxin type A in its purified form, has revolutionised the face of cosmetic dermatology. It is a simple, reliable, reproducible, non-invasive procedure that can be administered successfully to manage a variety of cosmetic issues.

Dr Alistair Stokes, Chief Executive Officer of Ipsen and Group Vice-President, Corporate Development, Beaufour Ipsen said "These trials are part of our worldwide strategy to develop botulinum toxin in aesthetic medicine. Inamed has an excellent reputation in this marketplace, and our relationship with the company will help us to achieve our goal of increasing the use of botulinum toxin as a cosmetic treatment".

"The market in the USA for botulinum toxins is projected to exceed $400 million in 2002 and approach $800 million by 2005. The partnership with Ipsen gives us the potential to expand our product portfolio for the customer in a significant way" said Nick Teti, Inamed’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

The exact nature of the cosmetic indication that will be submitted by Inamed will depend on the outcome of the clinical trial programme.

Botulinum toxin will be manufactured by Ipsen Biopharm in Wrexham, North Wales and supplied to Inamed for distribution in North America and Japan. Ipsen Biopharm is the UK pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution arm of the Beaufour Ipsen Group.


Notes to editor

Botulinum toxin

Beaufour Ipsen’s botulinum toxin type A (which is branded as Dysport®) is now licensed in 50 countries for a variety of neuromuscular indications including: cervical dystonia, blepharospasm, hemifacial spasm, and the treatment of dynamic equinus foot deformity due to spasticity in ambulant paediatric cerebral palsy. In addition Dysport® is licensed in some countries for post-stroke spasticity and hyperhidrosis.

Beaufour Ipsen

Present in over 80 countries with a total staff of 3423, the Beaufour Ipsen Group had a turnover of €704 million in 2001, 57% of which was outside France.

The Group specialises in oncology, haematology, neurology and endocrinology and has a portfolio of 30 products which are either peptides, derived from biotechnology, or based on natural sources. In 2001, 16.4% of Beaufour Ipsen’s turnover was reinvested in Research and Development (R&D).

The Group’s website is www.beaufour-ipsen.com

Inamed Corporation

Inamed is a global medical device company engaged in the development, manufacturing and marketing of products for breast and facial aesthetics and obesity intervention. These products include breast implants for aesthetic augmentation and for reconstructive surgery following a mastectomy; a range of dermal products to correct facial wrinkles; and minimally invasive devices for obesity intervention, including the LAPBAND® System indicated for severe obesity.

The Company’s website is www.inamed.com


Source: Ipsen

[Read more!]

Beaufour Ipsen and Roche to develop jointly and market Beaufour Ipsen’s novel anticancer drugs

Roche’s pipeline strengthened, with a fifth oncology transaction including a product in phase II Roche and Beaufour Ipsen (Paris, France) announced today that they have signed a global agreement to co-develop and market Beaufour Ipsen’s new anticancer candidates. Roche will have worldwide rights, excluding Europe, to market two Beaufour Ipsen products in development (diflomotecan and BN80927). Beaufour Ipsen retains these rights for Europe. In addition, mutual rights have been granted to future follow-on products in the same chemical family, the homocamptothecines, a new class of anticancer molecules discovered by Beaufour Ipsen.

Diflomotecan, which is entering Phase II clinical development, and a second compound (BN80927), currently in pre-clinical development, are being assessed for their efficacy in solid tumours, including colorectal, lung and breast cancer. Combination studies of diflomotecan and Roche’s Xeloda are expected to begin during the first quarter of 2003.

Diflomotecan is the first of a new generation of topoisomerase-1 inhibitors, with a proven mechanism of action, improved safety and efficacy profile. The second compound, BN80927, has a novel mechanism of action, including dual inhibition of topoisomerases I and II, and will be developed for a broad spectrum of indications.

"We are very pleased that Beaufour Ipsen has selected Roche to commercialise these promising drug candidates, especially in the US oncology market. With the completion of our fifth oncology deal this year and the continuous progress of our in-house pipeline, the strength of our portfolio continues to increase." said William M. Burns, Roche’s Head of Pharmaceuticals.

"We are delighted to be working with such a world class company and one of the world’s leading oncology companies to develop and market novel topoisomerase inhibitors discovered by Beaufour Ipsen" said Jean-Luc Belingard, CEO of the Beaufour Ipsen Group.


Financial Terms
Under the terms of the agreement Roche will have all rights to market and sell diflomotecan and BN80927 in the USA, Japan, and rest of the world, whereas Beaufour Ipsen will have the sole right to market and sell the products in Europe. Roche and Beaufour Ipsen will jointly pay all future research and development costs for selected indications according to their market potential. Beaufour Ipsen will receive up to US$150 million, consisting of over $20 million in committed payments, and additional payments contingent upon achievement of clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones. Beaufour Ipsen will receive royalties on net sales in the USA, Japan and rest of the world, while Roche will receive royalties on net sales in Europe.

About the Agreement
Roche and Beaufour Ipsen will jointly conduct clinical development of the products. The principal focus of the collaboration will be the clinical development and marketing of diflomotecan and BN80927. Roche and Beaufour Ipsen will also have mutual rights to follow-on compounds and improvements over the next three years. Any such products would also be co-developed and co-commercialised by Roche and Beaufour Ipsen for the treatment of cancer or other therapeutic areas.

Roche in Oncology
Roche is the world leader in oncology. Its franchise includes three drugs with survival benefit: MabThera (Rituximab), Xeloda (capecitabine), and Herceptin (Trastuzumab). It also includes NeoRecormon (epoetin beta), Roferon-A (interferon alfa-2a), and Kytril (granisetron HCL). In addition, Roche has entered several agreements in the current year with Antisoma, Kosan, Gryphon, and GeneMab to develop and commercialise various promising compounds in the oncology field. The Roche Group’s oncology program is supported by four Research sites (two in the USA, Germany and Japan) and five Development sites (two in the USA, UK, Switzerland and Japan).
Roche also offers a broad portfolio of tumor markers for prostate, colorectal, liver, ovarian, breast, stomach, pancreas and lung cancer, as well as a range of molecular oncology tests running on the LightCycler. Within its Integrated Cancer Care Unit the company develops new tests which will have a significant impact on disease management of cancer patients in the future.

About Roche
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world’s leading research-orientated healthcare groups. The company's two core businesses in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics provide innovative products and services, that address prevention, diagnosis and treatment of 3 diseases, thus enhancing people’s health and quality of life. The two core businesses achieved a turnover of 19.3 billion Swiss Francs in the first three quarters of 2002 and employed about 57,000 employees worldwide.

Beaufour Ipsen in oncology
Endocrinology/oncology is a significant line of development for Beaufour Ipsen, representing 33.2% of its turnover in 2001. Sales are based on two major products, Decapeptyl, a sustainedrelease (28 days and 3 months) peptide analogue of the hypothalamus hormone (GnRH), mainly indicated in the treatment of prostate cancer, and Somatuline, a sustained-release (28 days) somatostatin peptide analogue and inhibitor of growth hormone used in the treatment of carcinoid tumors.

About Beaufour Ipsen
Present in over 80 countries with a total staff of 3423, the Beaufour Ipsen Group had a turnover of €704 million in 2001, 57% of which was outside France. The Group develops products for four targeted disease area franchises: oncology, endocrinology, neurology and haematology. It currently has a portfolio of 30 products on the market which are either peptides, derived from biotechnology, or products based on natural sources. In 2001, 16.4% of Beaufour Ipsen's turnover was reinvested in Research and Development, which is carried out in four research centres (Paris, Boston, Barcelona and London) by an international network of around 500 scientific staff. The Group's website is www.beaufour-ipsen.com.


Source: Ipsen

[Read more!]

Genome express increases focus on integrated collaborative high throughput services and solutions

Company moves to strengthen position as link in partners' R&D value chain

Grenoble, France, November 15, 2002 - GENOME express, the developer of high value-added solutions for functional genomics and target discovery and validation, announces today that it is increasing its focus on integrated high throughput services and solutions for pharmaceutical, biotech and agri-food industries.

The company has already implemented a number of measures to support this strategy. These include the transfer of its oligonucleotide activity to Qbiogene, a Canadian company that develops and markets molecular biology and genomics products, and the recent launch of its proprietary Discriminative Analysis of Clone Signatures (DACS^TM) technology, a solution focusing on the discovery process of tissue- or cell-expressed genes.

"Remaining competitive and profitable in oligonucleotide activities would have demanded significant investment," said Yves Laurent, CEO of GENOME express. "We decided it would also be a distraction from our higher added value activities where we are engaged in the development and collaborative deployment of our unique integrated platform (genomics, gene profiling and proteomics, bioinformatics) to address real needs."

The recent launch of its Discriminative Analysis of Clone Signatures (DACS) technology is a good illustration of GENOME express' commitment to providing solutions offering real advantages to its customers and partners.

"In the fast-moving field of exploratory genomics, GENOME express intends to stay in the forefront of high value-added services," added Laurent. "Our new GE-DACS solution eliminates bottlenecks in the discovery process of genes expressed in tissue or in a cell and reduces the expense and time needed to generate resources and information for the expression analysis of these genes."

Future investments and collaborations will reinforce its already powerful in-house technology platforms and the company will continue to build a business that brings tangible, significant benefits to its customers. "We expect to make further exciting announcements that will show how GENOME express brings unique competitive advantages to its customers," concluded Laurent.


About GENOME express
GENOME express, Grenoble, France, develops and markets high value-added solutions for functional genomics. The company offers a unique platform that integrates proprietary tools for genomics (discovery and identification of SNPs — Syn-Quence^TM), transcriptomics (gene expression analysis), and proteomics (identification of proteins using genome mapping of mass spectrometry data — Pep Map^TM). Building on its success and experience as a service provider, GENOME express is currently making its platform accessible to private sector researchers and academics in the biopharmaceutical sector. This will be done through partnerships and enable GENOME express customers to outsource their R&D projects either in part or totally. The company is also developing its own research to discover new targets for therapeutic or diagnostic applications in the fields of metabolic diseases such as diabetes or obesity, the central nervous system and bacterial genomics.

For further information: http://www.genomex.com

Source: Genome Express

[Read more!]

Genome express launches proprietary technology to speed up gene discovery

DACS (Discriminative Analysis of Clone Signatures) cuts cost of creating improved genomic resources and simplifies gene expression analysis

Grenoble, France, October 23, 2002 - GENOME express, the developer of high value-added solutions for functional genomics and target discovery and validation, announces today the availability of its new proprietary technology, DACS.

The first application of this innovative technology is GE-DACS^TM (Gene Expression DACS). GE-DACS^TM eliminates bottlenecks in the discovery process of genes expressed in tissue or in a cell. Unlike existing processes, which are both complicated and costly, DACS reduces the expense and time needed to generate resources and information for the expression analysis of these genes. These resources are mainly PCR products that are "ready-to-spot" for an analysis tool such as micro-arrays. Micro-arrays have become an essential tool in the study of complex diseases such as diabetes, cancer and obesity.

DACS thus provides a significant breakthrough compared with other processes such as SAGE¹. DACS not only speeds up the discovery process but also facilitates expression analysis without the need to access data relating to the organism in question (genomic sequence or EST² sequences).

Furthermore, as it is built on the generation of complementary DNA clones, DACS ensures these biological resources are kept intact, and a link to the information produced is established for each clone. If, during the discovery process, researchers suspect the implication of a particular gene in a disease, they can access the initial biological resource and begin an in-depth analysis.

The simplicity of the process means that for the first time, experiments can be reproduced with ease. This is crucial for differential expression analysis, for example gene expression in a normal cell compared to a cancerous cell.

While the first application of DACS is for the study of gene expression, this technology developed by GENOME express can be applied far more widely for use in genomics. Examples include genome sequencing finishing and structural differential genome analysis.

"GE-DACS^TM enriches our technology portfolio with the addition of high-throughput differential expression analysis," said Yves Laurent, CEO of GENOME express. "DACS is proof of GENOME express' ability to develop innovative proprietary tools linking molecular biology to bioinformatics."

¹ — SAGE - Serial Analysis of Gene Expression
² — EST - Expressed Sequence Tag


About DACS
DACS (Discriminative Analysis of Clone Signature) is the new proprietary technology provided by GENOME express. The technology, based on EST sequencing reduces cost while offering the same advantages. DACS marks only one nucleotide of the four composing DNA — A, C, G, T — and includes a capillary multiplex sequencing thus offering high-throughput (1536 samples per run). A patented signal analysis technology applied on sequencing results discriminates identical clones from the different ones, thus allowing the discovery of genes expressed.

For further information: http://www.genomex.com

About GENOME express
GENOME express, Grenoble, France, develops and markets high value-added solutions for functional genomics. The company offers a unique platform that integrates proprietary tools for genomics (discovery and identification of SNPs — Syn-Quence^TM), transcriptomics (gene expression analysis), and proteomics (identification of proteins using genome mapping of mass spectrometry data — Pep Map^TM). Building on its success and experience as a service provider, GENOME express is currently making its platform accessible to private sector researchers and academics in the biopharmaceutical sector. This will be done through partnerships and enable GENOME express customers to outsource their R&D projects either in part or totally. The company is also developing its own research to discover new targets for therapeutic or diagnostic applications in the fields of metabolic diseases such as diabetes or obesity, the central nervous system and bacterial genomics.

For further information: http://www.genomex.com

Source: Genome Express

[Read more!]

Genome express appoints François Pons as new business development manager

Functional genomics company will benefit from François Pons' pharma and biotech experience in creating and managing scientific and industry collaborations

Grenoble, France, September 23, 2002 - GENOME express, the developer of high value-added solutions for functional genomics, announces today the appointment of François Pons as Director of Business Development.

Before taking up this appointment with GENOME express, Pons acquired eight years' high-level experience in the industry. He was Director of business development and scientific communication at the Centre d'Immunologie Pierre Fabre, in Saint Julien en Genevois, on the French side of the border between France and Switzerland. At Pierre Fabre, Pons was closely involved in the negotiation of a number of partnerships and licensing agreements, as well as the setting up and management of research consortia in immunotherapy for cancer and infectious diseases. He was also active in managing investment projects. He originally joined Pierre Fabre as biotechnology licensing manager after a period in strategic marketing with Baxter Healthcare France. His academic qualifications include a master's degree in biochemistry and microbiology (Marseille-Luminy), a diploma in food biotechnology and industry (ENSAIA, Nancy, a French school of agronomy and food industry), and a master's in industrial engineering and management of technological innovation (École Centrale, Paris).

François Pons comes to GENOME express during a period of intensive development. He is responsible for relations with both industry and research establishments and will develop collaborative and partnership alliances with these bodies. His overall mission is to promote GENOME express's integrated genomics and proteomics platform.

"GENOME express is at the stage where it needs to market its know-how in a more targeted and personalized way," said Yves Laurent, CEO of GENOME express. "François Pons brings the skills and experience required for this new phase. He possesses a combination of salesmanship, experience in negotiating and setting up contracts, and understanding of the scientific and pharmaceutical industry environments. This, together with his sheer enthusiasm, will make him one of the key players in the success of GENOME express. We are truly pleased to have him on board."

"I am looking forward to working with the GENOME express team in a vital, fast-growing field," said François Pons. "The company has demonstrated considerable quality throughout its existence and the excellent team has made the right scientific and industry choices, positioning itself in the functional genomics space. These are all good reasons why I want to make my contribution to the company's future success."


About GENOME express
GENOME express, Grenoble, France, develops and markets high value-added solutions for functional genomics. Its expertise covers a variety of disciplines including microbiology (library manufacturing), molecular biology (high throughput sequencing) and bioinformatics (proprietary software). Under development are an integrated genomics and proteomics platform designed to enable GENOME express to engage in proprietary target discovery. Siparex Ventures was lead banker for the fund-raising with co-lead Sud Partners (Sudinnova's fund management arm). Other investors were 3i, the original institutional investor, the Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild, Aquasourça, SPEF Venture and Biotek Partenaires. Since the 12.4&nbps;million euro financing round, the company has received a further million euro grant from France's innovation agency, Anvar. GENOME express is one of the four members of the Genostar consortium, a bioinformatics platform for exploratory genomics that offers a unified way of representing biological knowledge.

Source: Genome Express

[Read more!]

Prostate cancer: Signature of a partnership agreement between Beaufour Ipsen and UroGene

Paris and Evry-Genopole, FRANCE — July 17, 2002 – The pharmaceutical group Beaufour Ipsen and the biopharmaceutical company UroGene have just signed a partnership agreement for the functional and clinical evaluation of a class of molecules in the field of prostate cancer. UroGene will be contributing its molecular genomic know-how, its biological and clinical expertise, and its biological resources and data base, in order to implement this programme.

"This agreement is very pertinent to the Beaufour Ipsen Group strategy since oncology is one of our major lines of therapeutic research. This agreement with UroGene regarding an important medical application is very satisfactory" stated Christophe Thurieau, Director of Research of the Henri Beaufour Institute. "We are convinced that evaluating our molecules for prostate cancer will open the way to extremely promising new therapeutic possibilities. Cancer of the prostate concerns millions of men the world over. Combining our joint expertise and developing the tools required to provide specialist care will give new hope to patients and clinicians involved in the management of this disease."

"We are particularly pleased with the Beaufour Ipsen decision to join forces with us. They are very prominent in the treatment of prostatic cancer and this agreement concurs with our strategy — an integrated oncological and urological approach. It is also a further demonstration that the means and know-how available to us can advance the development of new therapeutics" declared Philippe Berthon, President and Chief Scientific Officer of UroGene. "Further to our own therapeutic development plans — from gene to treatment — in the field of urological tumours, such cooperative work on new molecules can provide timely solutions in the quest for innovative treatment at the clinical stage."


Present in over 80 countries with a total staff of 3423, the Beaufour Ipsen Group had a turnover of €704 million in 2001, 57% of which was outside France. The Company specialises in oncology, haematology, neurology and endocrinology and has a portfolio of 30 products which are either peptides, derived from biotechnology, or based on natural sources. In 2001, 16.4% of Beaufour Ipsen's turnover is reinvested in Research and Development. R&D is focused on four major areas (biologicals, peptides, therapeutic agents of low molecular weight and drug delivery technology) and is carried out from 4 research centres (Paris, Boston, Barcelona and London) by an international network of around 500 scientific staff. The Group is directing its research efforts towards disabling diseases where current treatments remain unsatisfactory. Beaufour Ipsen currently has a pipeline of 15 projects in development. The Group has also set up research partnerships with prestigious universities in the USA and Europe, mainly in France and in the United Kingdom.

UroGene is a biopharmaceutical company with extensive physio-pathological clinical expertise for the accelerated discovery and development of novel onco-urological drugs (prostate, kidney, bladder).

UroGene's three major assets in order to accelerate the process and reach these objectives are:

• UroBank, a tissue and data bank fuelling research projects and enabling early identification of new pertinent therapeutic targets
• A very efficient — and therefore time saving — therapeutic target validation process
• Complete integration of the research and development platform (genomics, functional biology, proteomics, and medicinal chemistry) so that new treatment projects can progress freely from early molecular gene identity studies to molecules in the clinical trial phase involving patients. Several specialised collaboration agreements have been signed to complement the UroGene platform.

At this point, UroGene is working on four of its own therapeutic development programmes (small molecules and peptides) and one programme in partnership.


Source: Ipsen

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