Gene Research Access Corporation Forms GENRAC, LLC With Abgenix and CJ America; Consortium Created for Functional Genomics Research.

Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

OAK RIDGE, Tenn.--(BW HealthWire)--Jan. 11, 2001

GENRAC, LLC today announced its formation in Oak Ridge, Tenn., as a consortium for functional genomics research. Three companies--Abgenix, CJ America, and Gene Research Access Corporation--are the first to come together in this consortium. GENRAC, LLC member companies will select functional genomics technology programs for research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Tennessee (UT).

Dr. Greg Landes of Abgenix and Chairman of the GENRAC, LLC Management Committee, said, "This consortium will focus on identifying new mouse models for human genetic diseases and novel methods to identify disease phenotypes for use in discovery research programs and other purposes of the partners."

Dr. Tom Sabourin, Executive Director of GENRAC, LLC, added, "With the full complement of genes nearly in hand, improved animal models and phenotyping techniques will be critical to rapidly selecting new therapeutic targets for novel drug development. Pooling of resources through GENRAC, LLC, will allow our member companies to address these opportunities more quickly than if they worked alone."

As sequencing of the human genome is completed, functional genomics is the growing area of emphasis, with the promise of providing entirely new approaches to understanding disease pathways and to drug development. The nature of GENRAC, LLC's joint research projects will be to address member objectives for high throughput phenotyping and therapeutic product development by generating and characterizing mouse models of important human diseases. A component of the research effort will focus on (1) the identification of mouse models that phenotypically mirror common human diseases, and (2) the characterization of these models with sufficient molecular detail to discern which mouse model or models most closely approximate a human disease of interest. Normal and diseased human tissues will also be included in parallel studies to elucidate genes and pathways that are differentially expressed in both human and corresponding mouse disease models. In this manner, ideal targets for the development and testing of novel therapeutics will be identified.

GENRAC, LLC's initial research emphasis is complementary to ongoing research at ORNL and UT. Over $6 million in public funding is committed annually to ORNL for genetics research. New facilities are under construction at ORNL for the Laboratory for Comparative and Functional Genomics, planned for completion in 2003. A supportive research facility has recently been completed with numerous labs for molecular, tissue culture, and general research.

Dr. Frank Harris, Associate Lab Director for Biological and Environmental Sciences at ORNL, said, "The ORNL life sciences program has integrated computational and analytical technologies with the lab's core biological research effort to advance the state-of-the-art in functional genomics using the mouse and other model organisms. The spectrum of research ranges from the very basic to the applied, and we have been working successfully to establish an appropriate portfolio of research funds to support the program. This portfolio includes non-federal funding sources. We see GENRAC, LLC playing a significant role in providing research funds from commercial partners. It is a win-win opportunity."

Dr. Sunghee Lee of CheilJedang, the parent company of CJ America, said "While there have been other consortia formed to answer fundamental research questions, few of them have offered the multidisciplinary resource combination in functional genomics and proteomics available through ORNL and UT. We believe that this combination offers real benefits to member companies."

Several additional companies have expressed an interest in joining the consortium. Additional closing meetings to add new members are planned for later this year.

About Abgenix

Abgenix is a biopharmaceutical company that develops and intends to commercialize antibody therapies for the treatment of such conditions as transplant-related diseases, inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, and cancer. Abgenix developed XenoMouse(TM) technology to enable the rapid generation of high affinity, fully human antibody product candidates to essentially any disease target appropriate for antibody therapy. Abgenix has collaborative arrangements with multiple pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies involving its XenoMouse technology. In addition, Abgenix has multiple proprietary antibody product candidates under development internally, three of which are in human clinical trials for graft-versus-host disease, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer. For more information on Abgenix, visit the company's Web site at www.abgenix.com.

About CJ America

CheilJedang, founded in 1953, is the parent company of CJ America, NJ, USA, and is the largest food manufacturing company in South Korea. Its biopharmaceutical division, added in 1985, markets many kinds of vaccines against Hepatitis B virus, Hantan virus, Varicella Zoster and Japanese Encephalitis, as well as several cytokines, such as EPO, G-CSF and Interferons. In addition, its R&D Center is currently developing biopharmaceutical products for the prevention and treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases. CheilJedang is combining its core technologies with emerging technologies such as functional genomics and proteomics to identify new drug targets and to develop novel drugs. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.cj.net.

About Gene Research Access Corporation

Gene Research Access Corporation is a nonprofit organization established to enable private sector sharing in functional genomics research at ORNL and UT. The Board of Directors of the Gene Research Access Corporation includes former executives of ORNL who have volunteered their time to establish the LLC. Funding for technical, administrative, and legal support has been provided by the United States Department of Energy through a grant from the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee.