Archemix Receives $2 Million Credit Facility From Comerica Bank.Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers BOSTON and CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--November 27, 2001 Comerica Bank, a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :CMA CMA - Concert Multithread Architecture from DEC. ) and Archemix Corporation announced today that Comerica's Technology and Life Sciences Division has provided the drug discovery company with a $2 million working capital and equipment loan. Based in Cambridge, Archemix develops products and services that accelerate the process of discovering and developing new drugs to combat disease. "Introducing new drugs to market more efficiently has long been a challenge for the biomedical bi·o·med·i·cal adj. 1. Of or relating to biomedicine. 2. Of, relating to, or involving biological, medical, and physical sciences. and pharmaceutical industries," said Parag Shah, senior vice president and group head of Comerica's East Coast Life Sciences Practice. "Archemix is providing the technology to bridge across the many stages of drug discovery, reducing the time and expenses associated with new drug identification and development. We are pleased to provide Archemix with this credit facility, and look forward to forging a long-lasting relationship with the company and its management team." Founded in May 2001, Archemix develops molecular sensor A molecular sensor or chemosensor is a molecule that interacts with an analyte to produce a detectable change. Molecular sensors combine molecular recognition with some form of reporter so the presence of the guest can be observed. technologies with applications in all stages of drug discovery. The company's core RiboReporter(TM) technology is used in Archemix's proprietary protein expression profiling Microarray technology is often used for gene expression profiling. It makes use of the sequence resources created by the genome sequencing projects and other sequencing efforts to answer the question, chips, which allow researchers to perform parallel detection of individual molecules in complex mixtures. This leads to the discovery and validation of new drug targets, and the development of drugs against those targets. Archemix received its first round of institutional funding, $8.25 million -- led by Atlas Venture Atlas Venture is an international early-stage venture capital firm that invests in communications, information technology, and life sciences companies. Atlas Venture has investing offices in Boston, London, Munich, and Paris, and its investments are evenly divided between the and Prospect Venture Partners -- in May 2001. "Comerica possesses a real understanding of our technology and the significant role it plays in drug discovery and development," said Jane Sheng sheng (Chinese; “sage” or “saint”) In Chinese belief, a mortal who attains extraordinary or supernatural powers by self-cultivation and serves as a model for others. Confucius used the term to refer to exemplary rulers of the past. , founder and vice president of finance at Archemix. "This credit facility, combined with the support of our institutional investors Institutional Investor A non-bank person or organization that trades securities in large enough share quantities or dollar amounts that they qualify for preferential treatment and lower commissions. , provides us with the resources to expand in our new Cambridge facility, as well as to continue our current rate of growth." About Archemix Archemix Corporation (www.archemix.com) is a privately held drug discovery company based in Cambridge, Mass. Founded in May, 2001, the company controls a broad spectrum of nucleic acid-based tools for molecular recognition to be used in the drug discovery and development process. The company's core technology is based on Aptamers and RiboReporters(TM), single-molecule biosensors that are the next generation of detection molecules. Aptamers are the nucleic acid nucleic acid, any of a group of organic substances found in the chromosomes of living cells and viruses that play a central role in the storage and replication of hereditary information and in the expression of this information through protein synthesis. equivalents of antibodies, and as such are capable of highly specific binding to a wide range of molecular targets. Aptamers can be used for a wide variety of applications, such as therapeutics therapeutics Treatment and care to combat disease or alleviate pain or injury. Its tools include drugs, surgery, radiation therapy, mechanical devices, diet, and psychiatry. , capture agents, and for molecular recognition. RiboReporters(TM) also bind to molecular targets, but, in addition, they generate a signal upon binding. These nano-sensors act as beacons, directly linking molecular recognition to the generation of a detectable signal. Unlike any other technology known today, Aptamers and RiboReporters(TM) can measure the presence or state of any compound, including drugs, metabolites Metabolites Substances produced by metabolism or by a metabolic process. Mentioned in: Interactions and proteins, in a complex mixture in real time in live cells. They make it possible to characterize, with unprecedented speed and accuracy, drug targets and leads virtually simultaneously, thereby expediting the search for new therapeutics. Backed by Atlas Venture, Prospect Venture Partners, and Rho Ventures, Archemix is currently working with its partners to develop and exploit its Aptamer and RiboReporter(TM) technology in a wide range of applications, including drug discovery and development, therapeutics, microbial microbial pertaining to or emanating from a microbe. microbial digestion the breakdown of organic material, especially feedstuffs, by microbial organisms. engineering, identifying environmental toxins, detecting contaminants in food or water, and in performing a range of other industrial control applications. About Comerica's Technology and Life Sciences Division Comerica Bank's Technology and Life Sciences Division, which was created when Comerica Incorporated acquired Imperial Bancorp in early 2001, is one of the nation's leading technology banking practices, offering a wide range of financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. tailored to corporate customers, entrepreneurs and professionals. Veteran bankers provide credit and financial services and products to young, growing, professionally backed technology and life sciences companies as well as their more mature counterparts in the computer products, Internet services, telecommunications, life sciences and e-commerce industries. From 18 offices located across the U.S., Comerica's Technology and Life Sciences Division serves all major technology centers. Comerica Incorporated is the 17th largest bank holding company in the nation, with $50 billion in assets. For more information, visit www.comerica.com. |
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