ARIAD And NsGene Combine Their Technologies to Explore Gene and Cell Therapies for Central Nervous System Diseases.Business Editors & Science Writers CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & COPENHAGEN, Denmark--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 2000 ARIAD ARIAD Allison Research Index of Art and Design Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:ARIA) and NsGene A/S today announced the establishment of a collaboration to evaluate a series of novel small-molecule regulated gene and cell therapy products for central nervous system (CNS See Continuous net settlement. CNS See continuous net settlement (CNS). ) diseases. In the joint program, the companies will combine the ARIAD Regulated Gene Expression Technology (ARGENT ar·gent n. 1. Heraldry The metal silver, represented by the color white. 2. Archaic Silver or something resembling it. )(TM) with NsGene's neurotrophic factors and technologies for culturing and engineering neural cells and delivering them to the CNS. After the initial research phase of the collaboration, further development and commercial terms will be determined regarding specific product plans. NsGene scientists and collaborators have obtained promising in vivo in vivo /in vi·vo/ (ve´vo) [L.] within the living body. in vi·vo adj. Within a living organism. in vivo adv. results with Neublastin, a proprietary neurotrophic factor neurotrophic factor A generic term for any of a family of substances with roles in maintenance and survival of neurons–eg, secretory proteins, nerve growth factors–see there, brain-derived growth factor, neurotrophin-3 they have identified and cloned, that has protective and growth-promoting effects on the specific nerve cells that degenerate in Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease or Parkinsonism, degenerative brain disorder first described by the English surgeon James Parkinson in 1817. When there is no known cause, the disease usually appears after age 40 and is referred to as Parkinson's disease. . The current market for products to treat Parkinson's disease exceeds $1 billion annually in Europe and North America. In the United States alone, there are over six million patients with CNS disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, stroke, Huntington's disease Huntington's disease, hereditary, acute disturbance of the central nervous system usually beginning in middle age and characterized by involuntary muscular movements and progressive intellectual deterioration; formerly called Huntington's chorea. , Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (ăls`hī'mərz, ôls–), degenerative disease of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex that leads to atrophy of the brain and senile dementia. , and other forms of dementia, that could benefit from the new cell and gene therapy products being tested in the ARIAD-NsGene collaboration. "This partnership brings together two leaders in gene and cell therapy," said Harvey J. Berger, M.D., chairman and chief executive officer of ARIAD. "NsGene's expertise in neuroscience, its proprietary neurotrophic factors, and innovative gene delivery technologies are the ideal compliments to ARIAD's proprietary gene regulation technology. Our goal is to jointly develop a series of novel gene and cell therapies, regulated by small-molecule drugs, for the treatment of CNS diseases." "The ARGENT system adds the necessary gene regulation to control expression of therapeutic factors administered to the brain by cell and gene therapy," said Teit E. Johansen, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of NsGene. "Having the ability to tightly regulate the production of a therapeutic factor such as Neublastin in the brain will move cell and gene therapy for neurodegenerative diseases neurodegenerative diseases diseases characterized by neurodegeneration. Lesions are microscopic only but in chronic disease with massive involvement there may be grossly visible atrophy of affected nervous tissue. a big step forward towards the clinic." ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (www.ariad.com) is a leader in the discovery and development of gene therapy, cell therapy, stem cell therapy stem cell therapy Cell therapy Molecular medicine A technology in which a person's own cells–eg, neuronal stem cells are triggered to revert to their primitive embryonic form, then redifferentiate into mature cells of various organs and protein therapy products featuring dose-dependent regulation by small-molecule drugs, as well as small-molecule inhibitors of signal transduction. NsGene A/S (www.nsgene.com) is a privately held Danish biotechnology company developing cell and gene-based therapies for the treatment of CNS disorders. NsGene has established strong collaborations with the Wallenberg Neurosciences Center at Lund University (Sweden) in the field of neural transplantation and with Biogen, Inc. in the development of Neublastin for indications outside the CNS. In 1999, NsGene was spun out of NeuroSearch A/S (www.neurosearch.com), a Danish neuropharmaceutical company traded on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange Copenhagen Stock Exchange The only securities exchange in Denmark. It features electronic trading of stocks, bonds, futures, and options. (NEUS.CO). NeuroSearch owns 28% of the shares in NsGene. Some of the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding ARIAD's preclinical studies, the ability of ARIAD to conduct clinical trials of its products and the results of such trials, as well as risks and uncertainties relating to economic conditions, markets, products, competition, intellectual property, services and prices, key employees, future capital needs, dependence on collaborators and other factors under the heading "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in ARIAD's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1999 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
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