ChromaXome Corp. Joins Forces With Houghten Pharmaceuticals for Drug Discovery; Houghten Makes Investment in ChromaXome.SAN DIEGO--(HealthWire)--Oct. 12, 1995--Houghten Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (HPI HPI abbr. history of present illness ) and ChromaXome Corporation, a privately-held company that uses DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. technology to tap novel sources of chemical diversity for pharmaceuticals, today announced a collaborative research agreement. As part of the agreement, HPI will make a significant investment in ChromaXome. The collaboration brings together ChromaXome's combinatorial biology approach to drug discovery with HPI's combinatorial chemistry Combinatorial chemistry involves the rapid synthesis or the computer simulation of a large number of different but structurally related molecules. Introduction Synthesis of molecules in a combinatorial fashion can quickly lead to large numbers of molecules. system for the synthesis of small organic molecules. ChromaXome and HPI will collaborate to develop new tools for the generation of small molecule libraries for high throughput drug discovery. Together the companies will produce very large libraries based on natural product pharmacophores (chemical templates). Specific terms of the investment were not disclosed. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Robert Leach, ChromaXome's chairman, "On the heels of our first joint discovery collaboration, with Bristol-Myers Squibb Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), colloquially referred to as BMS, is a pharmaceutical corporation, formed by a 1989 merger between pharmaceutical companies Bristol-Myers Company, founded in 1887 by William McLaren Bristol and John Ripley Myers in Clinton, NY (both were , HPI's involvement with ChromaXome is another recognition of the value of our technology. "HPI's experience in drug discovery and combinatorial chemistry will expand our ability to develop novel chemical compounds discovered using our combinatorial biology approach to drug discovery." Mr. Leach continued, "This collaboration will also benefit both companies by enhancing our ability to approach larger pharmaceutical partners for further development and marketing of new drug leads." "We're very excited about this collaboration," said Bob Whitehead Bob Whitehead is a game designer and programmer. He is a renowned pioneer and entrepreneur of the video game industry. Career Whitehead worked for Atari in the late 1970s developing games for the Atari 2600 (or VCS for Video Computer System). , chief executive officer at HPI, "This is a major step towards HPI's goal of becoming the leading practitioner of molecular diversity technologies, using a broad range of tools to make the drug discovery process more productive. A significant percentage of all drugs marketed worldwide are semi-synthetic or synthetic, but based on natural product pharmacophores," Mr. Whitehead explained. "By tapping into ChromaXome's unexplored sources of new chemicals, and adding further value through combinatorial chemistry, our potential for generating new drug leads increases substantially." ChromaXome Corporation, founded in 1993, is the world's first combinatorial biology company. Its mission is to become a leading developer of drug leads for high-throughput screening High-throughput screening (HTS), is a method for scientific experimentation especially used in drug discovery and relevant to the fields of biology and chemistry. Purpose and method . The company uses its proprietary genetic engineering technology to splice DNA sequences from difficult-to-access sources (such as marine microorganisms) into common industrial microorganisms such as E. coli E. coli: see Escherichia coli. E. coli in full Escherichia coli Species of bacterium that inhabits the stomach and intestines. E. coli can be transmitted by water, milk, food, or flies and other insects. . This allows rapid expression of large numbers of novel chemicals for screening as potential new drugs. Recently, ChromaXome initiated its first joint discovery collaboration, with Bristol-Myers Squibb, using ChromaXome's combinatorial biology technology to express novel compounds from Bristol-Myers Squibb's library of microbes. Houghten Pharmaceuticals, Inc., one of the leading combinatorial chemistry companies, has developed solution-based libraries of small organics, peptidomimetics, and peptides with each library containing thousands to millions of compounds available for high-throughput screening. The company currently uses its technology in joint discovery collaborations with a broad group of pharmaceutical, biotech and non-healthcare companies. HPI's internal clinical focus is in the investigation of cytokine-mediated inflammatory diseases. The company's lead cytokine Cytokine Any of a group of soluble proteins that are released by a cell to send messages which are delivered to the same cell (autocrine), an adjacent cell (paracrine), or a distant cell (endocrine). regulatory agent (CRA See Community Reinvestment Act. ) is currently in Phase II clinical trials. CONTACT: Houghten Pharmaceuticals Inc. Robert S. Whitehead, 619/455-2545 or ChromaXome Corp. Michael C. Dickman, 619/453-5877 x13 |
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