Biolex, Inc.'s CEO Jan Turek Talks to The Wall Street Transcript.Business Editors NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--October. 11, 2001 The Wall Street Transcript has published an in-depth interview with Jan Turek, President and Chief Executive Officer of Biolex, Inc. The entire 2,400-word interview is available free-of-charge online at http://www.twst.com/ceos.htm Turek gives an overview of the company. "Biolex is a company that was founded in 1997 focusing on developing the next generation of patented recombinant protein recombinant protein Molecular biology A protein encoded by recombinant DNA or generated from a recombinant gene. See Recombinant pharmacology. production technologies in a plant-based system. We selected Lemna, what we call duckweed duckweed, any plant of the genus Lemna and sometimes of related genera. Duckweeds are tiny floating or submerged aquatic plants with reduced or obsolete roots. They flower only rarely, and their flowers are small and inconspicuous. plant, as this system. Duckweed is one of the world's smallest flowering plants plants which have stamens and pistils, and produce true seeds; phenogamous plants; - distinguished from See also: Flowering , has the fastest growth rate of all higher plants, and is a staple food A staple food is a food that forms the basis of a traditional diet, particularly that of the poor. Staple foods vary from place to place, but are typically inexpensive starchy foods of vegetable origin that are high in food energy (Calories) and carbohydrate and that can be stored of waterfowl waterfowl, common term for members of the order Anseriformes, wild, aquatic, typically freshwater birds including ducks, geese, and screamers. In Great Britain the term is also used to designate species kept for ornamental purposes on private lakes or ponds, while in , fish and so on. Our company turns this plant, Lemna, into a powerful production platform for biopharmaceuticals. With the Lemna System(TM), we can make recombinant proteins Since human recombinants have replaced the animal version in human therapeutics, the prefix of "rh" for "human recombinant" appears less and less in the literature Human recombinants that replaced animal or harvested from human types Turek further adds, "Lemna has some very exciting characteristics that make it very suitable for this technology. It can produce a wide variety of proteins. We've already shown that by making eight different proteins with our Lemna System(TM). It also has some unique characteristics; it's a clonal plant, which means that it's asexual asexual /asex·u·al/ (a-sek´shoo-al) having no sex; not sexual; not pertaining to sex. a·sex·u·al adj. 1. Having no evident sex or sex organs; sexless. 2. , reproducing by cloning itself." During the interview, Turek explains, "Our goals are very simple. We want, as much as possible, to partner with other pharmaceutical and biotech companies to further prove the Lemna System(TM). They can work with us at further developing the system with the proteins we have, proteins such as alpha-interferon, or human growth hormone human growth hormone (HGH): see growth hormone. , and with proteins that they may have in their own pipeline. We would also be open to outlicensing our technology to various biotech and pharmaceutical companies to allow them to use that technology to develop these proteins for themselves." Looking ahead, Turek states, "Biolex's long-term goal, or strategic vision is to become a premiere protein company, and to develop our own proprietary proteins for the marketplace, through collaborations with universities, or in cooperation with other companies." This interview is part of a 179-page Biotechnology Issue available at http://www.twst.com/info/info423.htm or by calling 212/952-7433. The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse the views of any interviewees nor does it make stock recommendations. For subscription information call 800/246-7673. |
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