GENE LOGIC and Molecular Geriatrics Corporation Announce Alzheimer's Disease Gene Discovery Collaboration.

COLUMBIA, Md.--(BW HealthWire)--March 24, 1997--GENE LOGIC INC. and Molecular Geriatrics Corporation of Vernon Hills, IL, today announced the establishment of an exclusive and comprehensive research collaboration for the discovery of genes related to Alzheimer's disease. GENE LOGIC will use its proprietary Accelerated Target Discovery platform to identify new drug targets and drug leads for the development of novel pharmaceuticals and advanced diagnostics for Alzheimer's disease management. Molecular Geriatrics and Peter Davies, Ph.D., of Albert Einstein College of Medicine will provide to the collaboration their proprietary technology and well-characterized brain tissues from patients with Alzheimer's disease.

GENE LOGIC's Accelerated Target Discovery platform uses a proprietary system based on genomic technologies and bioinformatics to accelerate the discovery of novel drug targets. Using its READS(TM) technology, GENE LOGIC is able to produce a complete, quantitative picture of all the genes used in a human cell ("Molecular Topography(TM)"). In this collaboration, GENE LOGIC will create a "molecular movie", a series of Molecular Topographies(TM), showing the changes in gene expression patterns as Alzheimer's disease develops and progresses in the brain. These changes in gene expression will be analyzed using GENE LOGIC's Gene Express(TM) bioinformatics system to discover and prioritize potential drug targets.

GENE LOGIC intends to license the drug targets and, potentially, drug lead compounds to pharmaceutical company partners for clinical development and commercialization. Molecular Geriatrics intends to commercialize or license any discovery resulting from the collaboration for use in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Both GENE LOGIC and Molecular Geriatrics will share any future revenue from the licensing, partnering or other commercialization of therapeutics and/or diagnostic products which result from the collaboration.

"Understanding the genetics associated with the Alzheimer's disease process could ultimately lead to the development of more effective therapeutics to treat, and early markers to diagnose, Alzheimer's disease," said John DeBernardis, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Development at Molecular Geriatrics. "GENE LOGIC is pioneering the application of gene expression technologies to complex diseases, and is pre-eminent in the analysis of potential gene targets using bioinformatics. The combination should allow us to progress far more rapidly than has proven possible using traditional genomic approaches such as positional cloning or random sequencing."

"Molecular Geriatrics together with its founding scientist, Peter Davies, Ph.D. of Albert Einstein College of Medicine have access to unique libraries of Alzheimer's brain tissue which have been microdissected and staged using their proprietary monoclonal antibodies," said Michael J. Brennan, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of GENE LOGIC INC. "By combining our companies' technologies, it will be possible for the first time to evaluate the entire spectrum of genes involved in this disease to discover the most promising therapeutic targets and markers for Alzheimer's disease."

GENE LOGIC is focused on Accelerated Target Discovery, providing to the pharmaceutical industry a high volume of disease-associated gene targets. These targets are essential to drug discovery programs aimed at developing and optimizing breakthrough treatments for major, common diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis and heart failure. Accelerated Target Discovery relies on GENE LOGIC's proprietary technologies for the analysis of gene expression (READS(TM)) and gene regulation (MuST(TM)) in normal and diseased human tissues. The data are captured in the Company's proprietary (GENE EXPRESS(TM)) database and analyzed to identify high-potential, disease-specific targets.

GENE LOGIC INC. is a privately-held genomics company based in Columbia, Maryland. The Company plans to establish alliances for target discovery with leading pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies in the areas of osteoporosis, cancer, heart failure and diseases of the central nervous system. Recently, GENE LOGIC initiated research collaborations with the Center for Clinical and Basic Research in Denmark to discover genes associated with osteoporosis and with Baylor College of Medicine in Houston for gene discovery in prostate cancer. To date, GENE LOGIC has raised $10 million in financing from private investors, including Oxford Bioscience Partners and Hambro Healthcare International.

Molecular Geriatrics Corporation is a privately owned company engaged in the research and development of a diagnostic to detect, and therapeutic compounds to treat, Alzheimer's disease.

CONTACT: GENE LOGIC INC.

Mark D. Gessler

Sr. Vice President Corporate Development & CFO 

410/309-3100 ext. 109

[e-mail]

OR

Molecular Geriatrics Corporation

Bruce N. Barron

President & CEO 

847/573-8000

OR

Burns McClellan, Inc.

James W. Heins

212/505-1919

[e-mail]