BioChem Pharma Concludes Agreements With Scriptgen Pharmaceuticals.LAVAL, QUEBEC Laval (pronounced  ) is a city and a region in southwestern Quebec, Canada in the Greater Montreal Area. It is located on Île Jésus, across the Rivière des Prairies from Montreal. , Canada--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 19, 1997--BioChem Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQin 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 :BCHE BChE abbr. Bachelor of Chemical Engineering , Montreal Exchange Montreal Exchange A Canadian derivatives exchange that facilitates the trading of stock options, interest rate futures and options, as well as index options and futures. Located in Montreal, Quebec, it is the country's main financial derivative market, while the Winnipeg , Toronto Stock Exchange Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) Canada's largest stock exchange, trading approximately 1,200 company stocks and 33 options. :BCH BCH Beach BCH Banco Central de Honduras BCH Boot Console Handler BCH Boulder Community Hospital (Boulder, CO, USA) BCH Broadcast Channel BCH Belfast City Hospital BCH Banco Central-Hispano ) announced today that it has concluded both a license agreement and an equity investment in privately-held, Medford, Massachusetts-based Scriptgen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Scriptgen). BioChem obtains exclusive rights to drug candidates in Scriptgen's hepatitis B Hepatitis B Definition Hepatitis B is a potentially serious form of liver inflammation due to infection by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). It occurs in both rapidly developing (acute) and long-lasting (chronic) forms, and is one of the most common chronic and dimerescent receptor research programs and invests US$20 million in Scriptgen. Under the license agreement, Scriptgen will be responsible for all aspects of drug discovery and will provide BioChem with small molecule drug candidates for novel molecular targets in its hepatitis B research program. BioChem Pharma will be responsible for preclinical and clinical development, seeking regulatory approvals and will retain worldwide commercialization rights. Profits on any commercialized products emanating from this program will be shared in accordance with the terms of the agreement. BioChem Pharma also obtains options to Scriptgen's dimerescent receptor program, which is directed to the discovery of novel small molecule drugs which act as mimics of therapeutic proteins by activating dimerization of certain receptors such as the erythropoietin receptor The erythropoietin receptor is a 66 kDa peptide and is a member of the cytokine receptor family. The receptor is tyrosine phosphorylated upon binding by erythropoietin and associates with and activates the tyrosine kinase, JAK2. . With its exercise of each option, BioChem will make a milestone payment to Scriptgen. As with the hepatitis B program, Scriptgen will provide the preclinical drug development candidates. BioChem Pharma will be responsible for preclinical and clinical development, seeking regulatory approvals and worldwide commercialization. Profits on any commercialized products emanating from this program will be shared in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Following the US$20 million investment in Scriptgen, BioChem obtains 20% of Scriptgen's equity and five-year warrants for an additional 5% of Scriptgen's equity. "We are very pleased that we have accomplished many things with these agreements. Scriptgen will use its technology platform to provide us with drug candidates to address novel molecular targets in one of our core therapeutic research areas, hepatitis B and BioChem obtains rights to drug candidates within Scriptgen's innovative dimerescent research program," said Dr. Gervais Dionne, Executive Vice President, Research and Development, BioChem Pharma. "In addition, through a strategic investment, BioChem acquires equity in this entrepreneurial and innovative drug discovery company," he added. Scriptgen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. utilizes its proprietary high throughput technologies to enable and accelerate the discovery of small molecule drugs. Scriptgen's technology platform identifies and validates novel gene targets for therapeutic intervention and then uses novel assays to rapidly screen compounds against those targets, even before their characteristics of functions are well understood. BioChem Pharma is an international biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the research, development and commercialization of innovative products for the prevention, detection and treatment of human diseases. The Company lists its common shares on the Montreal and Toronto exchanges (BCH) and the Nasdaq national market (BCHE). BioChem Pharma news releases and other company information can be found on the World Wide Web at: http://www.biochem-pharma.com. This press release contains forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. which reflect the company's current expectation regarding future events. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events could differ materially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors including the success of the company's research strategy, the applicability of the discoveries made therein, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, and the uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process. Investors should consult the company's ongoing quarterly filings, annual reports and 20- F filings for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc these forward-looking statements. CONTACT: BioChem Pharma Inc. Christine Lennon Vice President, Corporate Communications Corporate communications is the process of facilitating information and knowledge exchanges with internal and key external groups and individuals that have a direct relationship with an enterprise. 514/978-7771 E-mail: corpcom@biochem-pharma.com |
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