Cetek Corporation and Pharmacia & Upjohn Sign Multi-Year Screening Agreement.

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BW HealthWire)--Sept. 28, 1999--

Cetek Corporation and Pharmacia & Upjohn, Inc. announced the signing of a multi-year screening agreement utilizing Cetek's proprietary technology in screening new genomic targets. Under the agreement, Cetek will develop assays for P&U's targets and screen against compound libraries from P&U.

"We are pleased to gain access to an early stage technology, such as Cetek's screening format. This will contribute significantly to our drug discovery," said Dr. Paul A. Lartey, Director, Infectious Diseases Research, Pharmacia & Upjohn.

"Working with Pharmacia & Upjohn, we have the opportunity to apply our screening technology to a large number of new targets from P&U and help them accelerate their drug discovery research," said James L. Waters, President of Cetek.

Founded in 1996, Cetek Corporation has developed a new technology that can rapidly develop newly discovered targets into a high-throughput screening format. This approach enhances the ability to quickly discover valuable "hits" in synthetic libraries, combinatorial mixtures, and natural product extracts. The technology was originally developed at the Barnett Institute of Northeastern University and is licensed exclusively to Cetek. This proprietary technology combines laser-induced fluorescence or UV detection with high resolution CE.

Cetek focuses on collaborating with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to derive benefits from this powerful screening technology. The company is a privately-held drug discovery company with laboratories located in Marlborough, MA.

For additional information, visit Cetek's website at http://www.cetek.com or contact Dr. James N. Little, Senior Vice President, at [phone] or [e-mail].