Brigham and Women's Hospital Grants Option for Worldwide Rights to Blood Platelet Modification Technology to ZymeQuest, Inc.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

BOSTON & BEVERLY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 27, 2004

Innovative Technology is Expected to Prolong Life of Blood Platelets, Reduce Bacterial Contamination Risk, Ease Blood Shortages, Provide Substantial Savings for Blood Banks

Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), and ZymeQuest(R), Inc. a worldwide leader in the discovery, development and commercialization of carbohydrate-modified blood products for use in transfusion medicine, announced today that BWH has granted ZymeQuest an option to license the worldwide rights to a new method of treating and chilling blood platelets that may prolong their shelf life by a week or more. The development of this technology was conducted by BWH's Department of Hematology with scientific support and assistance from ZymeQuest. Under a joint invention agreement, BWH and ZymeQuest share the proprietary rights to the technology.

Platelets do not tolerate refrigeration. When subjected to chilling during storage for even very short periods of time, platelets disappear rapidly from the circulation of transfusion recipients. Therefore, platelets must be stored at room temperature, which, in turn, fosters the growth and survival of a broad spectrum of bacteria. Bacterial contamination of platelets is the most common cause of transfusion-associated infection in the United States today. Because the incidence of bacterial contamination is estimated to be as high as one in 1,000 platelet units, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration limits the shelf life of platelets to five days, resulting in the continuous discarding of outdated platelets.

"Platelet modification is based on the proprietary use of a naturally occurring sugar compound (UDP-galactose) and state-of-the-art methods and processes to modify platelets such that they may be stored under refrigeration," said Dr. Thomas P. Stossel, a lead investigator of the technology, Co-Director and Senior Physician of the Hematology Division at BWH, American Cancer Society Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a member of ZymeQuest's Board of Directors. "The license grants ZymeQuest the rights to product development and commercialization of the carbohydrate modified platelet technology, which produces a modified platelet product offering several advantages.

"Because of refrigerated storage, this technology is expected to provide a much safer transfusion product that has the potential to decrease the cost and complexity of platelet inventory management, improve the efficacy of platelet transfusions, simplify the process of collection and storage, and reduce platelet outdating losses significantly. With the aging population in the U.S. and the number of young donors decreasing, this technology could revolutionize the operation of blood centers," Stossel added.

According to data published by the American Association of Blood Banks and the National Blood Data Resource Center, the demand for platelets has increased by an annual rate of 15 to 17 percent during the past five years. Despite this increase in demand, approximately 20 percent of the platelet supply outdated and was discarded in each of those years. In 2001, the cost of outdating in the United States is thought to have exceeded $155 million.

"We are delighted to be granted the option to license this technology and to advance our longstanding research relationship with BWH," said Douglas L. Clibourn, president and CEO of ZymeQuest. "We believe the platelet modification technology is a perfect complement to ZymeQuest's core mission of developing and commercializing our enzymatic blood conversion system that enables the conversion of groups A, B and AB red blood cells to enzyme converted group O 'universal' red blood cells, known as ECO(R) red cells. Both technologies are intended to reduce the logistical and financial burdens on the blood delivery system and help maintain a safe and adequate blood supply.

"Moreover, ZymeQuest has assembled leading experts in glycobiology, carbohydrate chemistry, hematology and transfusion medicine for the development of this carbohydrate modification system. As a result, ZymeQuest is uniquely qualified to take on the platelet modification project. We have significant worldwide experience in the development and commercialization of blood processing systems, blood component therapy, hospital based transfusion medicine and the regional blood center system," concluded Clibourn.

ZymeQuest's product development and commercialization goals under the proposed licensing agreement are to optimize the techniques for platelet modification, produce a galactose modification delivery system, conduct clinical trials, develop a commercializable modification protocol, gain regulatory clearance and market the galactose modification product to hospitals and regional blood centers. BWH and ZymeQuest are expected to enter into a sponsored research agreement.

About Brigham and Women's Hospital

BWH is a 725-bed nonprofit teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare System, an integrated health care delivery network. Internationally recognized as a leading academic health care institution, BWH is committed to excellence in patient care, medical research, and the training and education of health care professionals. The hospital's preeminence in all aspects of clinical care is coupled with its strength in medical research. A leading recipient of research grants from the National Institutes of Health, BWH conducts internationally acclaimed clinical, basic and epidemiological studies.

About ZymeQuest, Inc.

ZymeQuest, Inc., located in Beverly, Massachusetts, is a privately owned company with expertise in the carbohydrate modification of blood cells for use in transfusion medicine. In addition to the platelet technology, ZymeQuest is pioneering the use of proprietary enzymes and state-of-the-art processes to convert human red blood cells from blood groups A, B, and AB to universally transfusable enzyme converted group O (ECO) cells. ZymeQuest has formed a partnership with Chiron Corporation for the development and commercialization of the ECO technology. For more information about ZymeQuest, visit the company's website at www.zymequest.com.