Amgen and Sugen Agree On Early Conclusion of Research Collaboration.REDWOOD CITY Redwood City, city (1990 pop. 66,072), seat of San Mateo co., W Calif., on San Francisco Bay; inc. 1868. Manufactures include commmunications, electrical, electronic, and medical equipment. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 1996--SUGEN, Inc. and Amgen today announced that they have reached an agreement to conclude their four-year research collaboration in neurobiology Neurobiology Study of the development and function of the nervous system, with emphasis on how nerve cells generate and control behavior. The major goal of neurobiology is to explain at the molecular level how nerve cells differentiate and develop their and hematopoiesis Hematopoiesis The process by which the cellular elements of the blood are formed. The three main types of cells are the red cells (erythrocytes), which serve to carry oxygen, the white cells (leukocytes), which function in the prevention of and recovery from one year earlier than planned. The collaboration was initiated in 1992 to identify novel signal transduction Signal transduction The transmission of molecular signals from a cell's exterior to its interior. Molecular signals are transmitted between cells by the secretion of hormones and other chemical factors, which are then picked up by different cells. targets for therapeutic intervention against certain hematopoietic hematopoietic /he·ma·to·poi·et·ic/ (-poi-et´ik) 1. pertaining to hematopoiesis. 2. an agent that promotes hematopoiesis. hematopoietic 1. pertaining to or affecting the formation of blood cells. and neurological disorders This is a list of major and frequently observed neurological disorders (e.g. Alzheimer's disease), symptoms (e.g.back pain), signs (e.g. aphasia) and syndromes (e.g. Aicardi syndrome). and had been planned to run for four years. However, both companies have agreed to an amicable wind-up one year early because their research priorities have changed over the three years. The terms of the wind-up agreement include provision for Amgen to make a final payment to SUGEN of $2.5 million. Amgen is also granting back to SUGEN exclusive worldwide rights to 22 proprietary signal transduction targets discovered in the course of the collaboration, subject to royalty payments back to Amgen with respect to potential future product sales. In addition, SUGEN is buying back from Amgen 235,000 shares of SUGEN common stock at $11.48 per share, thereby reducing Amgen's current SUGEN stock holdings to 153,000. At the same time, Amgen will purchase from SUGEN for $200,000 a seven-year warrant to purchase 200,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $15.50 per share. "We are disappointed not to continue pursuing this collaboration to the point of producing commercially valuable development projects. Amgen's research priorities in the areas covered by the agreement have changed over the last three years, however, so this early conclusion makes sense for Amgen," said Amgen Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gordon Binder. "We continue to have the highest respect for SUGEN's science and we look forward to maintaining our association with the company going forward." "While we are also disappointed by this early wind-up, all of us at SUGEN are deeply appreciative of the assistance Amgen has given SUGEN in the early stages of establishing this company, and we are pleased to be able to continue in this way the friendly corporate and personal relations between us," said Stephen Evans-Freke, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SUGEN. SUGEN said it will be reviewing the implications of this development for the allocation of its internal research resources and its corporate partnering opportunities over the coming months. SUGEN said the terms of the wind-up would not have a material effect on its 1995 and 1996 profit and loss statements. SUGEN, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development of a new class of small molecule drugs which interact with key signal transduction molecules, known as tyrosine kinases and tyrosine tyrosine (tī`rəsēn), organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins. Only the l-stereoisomer appears in mammalian protein. phosphatases, and their signalling pathways. These pathways are involved in a broad number of human diseases and disorders, including cancer and diabetes. Amgen (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :AMGN) is a global biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets human therapeutics based on advanced cellular and molecular biology molecular biology, scientific study of the molecular basis of life processes, including cellular respiration, excretion, and reproduction. The term molecular biology was coined in 1938 by Warren Weaver, then director of the natural sciences program at the Rockefeller . CONTACT: SUGEN, Inc. Nina W. Ferrari, 415/306-7700 irdept@sugen.sf.ca.us or Amgen David Kaye, 805/447-6692 (corporate communications) Sarah H. Crampton, 805/447-1659 (investors) or Burns McClellan, Inc. Justin Jackson, 415/352-6262 (media) Lilian S. Stern, 212/505-1919 (investors) |
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