Nature and Science Articles Report Success Employing Sequitur's Functional Genomics Technology for Alzheimer's Disease Target Validation.NATICK, Mass.--(BW HealthWire)--Dec. 10, 1999-- Sequitur, Inc. of Natick, MA, announced today that two major pharmaceutical clients have independently employed Sequitur's functional genomics Noun 1. functional genomics - the branch of genomics that determines the biological function of the genes and their products genomics - the branch of genetics that studies organisms in terms of their genomes (their full DNA sequences) technology to validate targets in Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (ăls`hī'mərz, ôls–), degenerative disease of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex that leads to atrophy of the brain and senile dementia. . Pharmacia & Upjohn of Peapack, New Jersey reported positive results in Nature (Yan, et al., Nature (1999) 402:533-537) and another group reported its success in a recent Science research article (Vassar, et al., Science (1999) 286:735-740). Results of this research may lead to the development of drugs that will halt or slow progression of Alzheimer's Disease. Mark Gurney gurney /gur·ney/ (gur´ne) a wheeled cot used in hospitals. gur·ney n. pl. gur·neys A metal stretcher with wheeled legs, used for transporting patients. , the leader of the Pharmacia & Upjohn research team, noted, "Use of Sequitur antisense antisense, DNA or RNA manipulated in a laboratory so that its components (nucleotides) form a complementary copy of normal, or "sense," messenger RNA (mRNA; see nucleic acid). reagents were critical to our success. Antisense provides a high through-put, cost effective means of linking genes to function." Tod Woolf, Sequitur's Vice President of Technology Development, noted, "Three years ago, when we began Sequitur, our technology was met with much skepticism. One by one, a growing list of licensees have adapted our technology after rigorous experimental trials. We are pleased that our technology has now been validated by two corporate drug development leaders in their research targeting Alzheimer's disease." Sequitur's proprietary antisense functional genomics technology accelerates drug discovery by helping to identify disease triggers. Sequitur's technology is a tool for determining the function of the human genetic code, now being decoded as part of the international human genome project. Antisense determines gene function and validates small molecule drug targets by specifically inhibiting gene expression. Sequitur's Antisense Functional Genomics Program offers highly potent and specific second generation antisense compounds, target site selection, collaborative research and cell transfection trans·fec·tion n. Infection of a bacterium or cell with DNA or RNA isolated from a bacteriophage or from an animal or a plant virus, resulting in replication of the complete virus. optimization. Sequitur's clients fund continued development of its technology platform. Nine of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies world-wide use Sequitur's antisense program. Subscribers to Sequitur's program obtain non-exclusive research licenses to Sequitur's current and evolving Antisense Functional Genomics Technology. Licensees include Amgen, Astra-Zeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Chiron, Genome Therapeutics, Glaxo Wellcome, Inex Pharmaceuticals, Incyte, Mitotix, Monsanto-Searle, Pharmacia-Upjohn and Wyeth-Ayerst. Sequitur is a privately held corporation Noun 1. privately held corporation - a corporation owned by a few people; shares have no public market close corporation, closed corporation, private corporation founded in 1996 to develop innovative sequence-based compounds for research, diagnostic, and therapeutic applications. Sequitur also offers products and services relating to gene expression and gene detection. Its' scientific staff and advisory board include leaders in the fields of oligonucleotide and gene therapy research. Safe Harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. Statement for Pharmacia-Upjohn: Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are "forward looking" statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. The actual results may differ from those projected in the forward looking statement due to risks and uncertainties that exist in each company's operations and business environment, described more fully in each Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
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