MIICRO, Inc., Announces a Strategic Technology Partnership With Pfizer for CNS Drug Development.Business Editors CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 26, 2001 MIICRO, Inc. of Chicago announced today that Pfizer, Inc., a leader in the development of drugs to treat central nervous system (CNS See Continuous net settlement. CNS See continuous net settlement (CNS). ) disorders, will invest $8.5 million in MIICRO, Inc. to build a technology platform to assess the effects of investigational compounds on the brain. The three-year Pfizer investment represents an equity investment, research and development funding, and payments for studies to assess the CNS effects of compounds in Pfizer's pipeline, 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. MIICRO executives. "Our agreement with Pfizer is a major milestone in MIICRO's development of a valuable neuroinformatics resource to accelerate the development of effective CNS drugs," said Dawn Matthews, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of MIICRO, Inc. "Pfizer is a visionary leader in pharmaceutical research and development, and we look forward to a very productive, collaborative and mutually beneficial Adj. 1. mutually beneficial - mutually dependent interdependent, mutualist dependent - relying on or requiring a person or thing for support, supply, or what is needed; "dependent children"; "dependent on moisture" relationship." "The partnership with Pfizer provides MIICRO with a unique opportunity to demonstrate the strategic value of its technology for increasing pharmaceutical R&D effectiveness," said O.B. Parrish, Chairman of MIICRO. MIICRO uses a patented positron emission tomography positron emission tomography: see PET scan. positron emission tomography (PET) Imaging technique used in diagnosis and biomedical research. (PET) imaging method called OMEI Omei, peak, China: see Emei. (R) to isolate and measure changes in human brain metabolism induced by pharmaceutical compounds. OMEI(R) allows researchers to determine: -- Whether a compound affects the brain -- Where the effect occurs in the brain -- The dose at which effects occur MIICRO's technology reduces development time, cost and risk by providing more information earlier in the drug development process. MIICRO is developing a human database of CNS drug effects which may help Pfizer scientists predict what CNS disorders a compound might treat and how it differs from currently available drugs The database will be used to evaluate new compounds, as well as new uses for existing drugs. Additional data about receptor characteristics, genomic response profile and other relationships will expand MIICRO's technology into a platform for identifying novel drug targets. MIICRO is also developing a pre-clinical imaging model that will provide cost-effective, rapid compound prioritization to improve early drug candidate selection for human studies. "This agreement with Pfizer is an example of how MIICRO intends to build the capabilities necessary to participate in the drug development and discovery process," said Malcolm Cooper Malcom Cooper (b. December 20 1947, Camberley; d. June 9 2001, Eastergate) was a British sport shooter and founder of Accuracy International. As of 2007, he is the only shooter to win two Olympic gold medals in 50 m Rifle. , M.D., and MIICRO's Medical Director. "MIICRO continues to gain new insights into the relationship between CNS drugs and brain response, thus creating a valuable resource for the scientific community." The use of MIICRO's technology has enabled several valuable new discoveries related to the previously unknown effects of drug compounds on the brain. An example is the first neuroimaging data in humans showing the effects of selective estrogen receptor modulators se·lec·tive estrogen receptor modulator n. Abbr. SERM A nonsteroidal compound, such as raloxifene or tamoxifen, designed to mimic the effect of estrogen on a specific tissue or body part by binding only to that part's estrogen receptors. (SERMs) and other estrogen replacement therapy estrogen replacement therapy n. Abbr. ERT The administration of estrogen, especially in postmenopausal women, to relieve symptoms and conditions associated with estrogen deficiency, such as hot flashes and osteoporosis. on metabolism in areas of the brain related to memory. The CNS drug market accounted for $42 billion in sales in 1999, the latest year in which figures are available. The pharmaceutical industry devoted more than 27 percent of its research and development funds toward the CNS drug category in 1999. More than 180 companies have CNS drugs in their development pipeline. Other companies in addition to Pfizer that have used MIICRO's technology include Eli Lilly Eli Lilly can refer to:
MIICRO, Inc. is a privately held company privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. focused on the integration of proprietary neuroimaging technology, informatics, and genomics to reduce drug development costs, speed new drugs to market, and develop novel pharmaceutical leads in the Central Nervous System (CNS) therapeutics arena.
For further information contact: Anne Brownsey
Ruder Finn
312-329-3907
brownseya@ruderfinn.com
www.MIICRO.com This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a high degree of technological, regulatory, and competitive risks and uncertainties inherent in early stage medical technology companies. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion