Robert E. Leach, Former Genencor CEO, joins ChromaXome as Chairman and CEO.SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 4, 1995--ChromaXome Corporation, a privately-held company using 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 marine sources of chemical diversity for pharmaceuticals, today announced that Robert E. Leach, 52, has joined the company as chairman and chief executive officer. Mr. Leach has personally invested in ChromaXome, and is working in an unsalaried capacity to help position the company for its second round of venture financing. He is presently concentrating on obtaining financing and establishing R&D partnerships to lay the foundation for future growth. Mr. Leach was previously President and Chief Executive Officer of Genencor International. During 10 years at the helm of Genencor, Mr. Leach built that Genentech-Corning joint venture into one of the first profitable genetic engineering companies, with revenues of over $150 million per year. Mr. Leach was also a founder of Genomyx, a leading developer of improved low-cost instrumentation for DNA sequencing. As with Genencor, Genentech is a major owner of Genomyx. ChromaXome Corporation, founded in 1993, uses proprietary genetic engineering technology to rapidly develop large numbers of drug leads and derivatives. Its mission is to become the leading developer of drug leads from marine microorganisms. The company is focusing its initial in-house drug discovery efforts on anti-infectives. ChromaXome is the first combinatorial biology company, splicing splicing /splic·ing/ (spli´sing) 1. the attachment of individual DNA molecules to each other, as in the production of chimeric genes. 2. RNA s. DNA sequences from unique 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. or Streptomyces Streptomyces (strĕp'təmī`sēz), bacterial genus of the order Actinomycetales, members of which resemble fungi in their branching filamentous structure. Various species produce such antibiotics as streptomycin and various tetracyclines. in order to express large numbers of novel chemicals for screening. According to Mr. Leach, "After several decades of screening terrestrial sources, pharmaceutical companies are reporting diminishing returns. To discover natural products for the future, companies must look to new sources of chemical and genetic diversity, such as the oceans. To facilitate this effort, ChromaXome has developed technologies to overcome some previous hurdles in marine sourcing such as resupply re·sup·ply tr.v. re·sup·plied, re·sup·ply·ing, re·sup·plies To provide with fresh supplies, as of weapons and ammunition. re ." ChromaXome's core technologies are the subjects of two recently filed patents. One technique extracts DNA from marine organisms, and splices sequences into standard industrial organisms. Using combinatorial techniques they can potentially produce millions of diverse drug leads and derivatives. The second patent filed covers a screening method for searching these biologically-derived DNA libraries for specific bioactivity bi·o·ac·tiv·i·ty n. The effect of a given agent, such as a vaccine, upon a living organism or on living tissue. . One application of this library enrichment technology uses a green fluorescent protein "EGFP" redirects here. EGFP may also refer to the ICAO airport code for Pembrey Airport. The green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a protein, comprised of 238 amino acids (26,9 kDa), from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria (GFP GFP Green Fluorescent Protein GFP Generic Framing Procedure GFP Government Furnished Property GFP Generic Frame Protocol GFP General Framing Procedure GFP Global Functional Plane GFP Global Field Power GFP Grandmothers for Peace GFP Glutton for Punishment ) obtained from a jellyfish jellyfish, common name for the free-swimming stage (see polyp and medusa), of certain invertebrate animals of the phylum Cnidaria (the coelenterates). The body of a jellyfish is shaped like a bell or umbrella, with a clear, jellylike material filling most of the . The GFP is linked to a special DNA sequence which is "turned on" or "off" by specific types of bioactivity. Cells expressing this activity can be rapidly selected using a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS FACS Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. FACS abbr. Fellow of the American College of Surgeons FACS fluorescence-activated cell sorter. ). The company is currently using this tool to find anti-infectives, thus demonstrating the capability of its libraries to produce novel therapeutic agents. "ChromaXome's genetic engineering technology has taken drug lead discovery to a new level," Mr. Leach stated. "Instead of cloning one gene, we can clone and express entire pathways of secondary metabolites. We can take newly discovered compounds directly from screening to initial production of material for clinical evaluation clinical evaluation Medtalk An evaluation of whether a Pt has symptoms of a disease, is responding to treatment, or is having adverse reactions to therapy . This eliminates the resupply problems associated with unique marine sources of drug leads. "ChromaXome's enrichment screening technology lets us rapidly sort through the millions of potential leads we generate, enhancing our libraries' value to pharmaceutical companies," Mr. Leach pointed out. "Already, preliminary data shows that we can generate high expression numbers relative to the number of species in our libraries. Furthermore, our patent application in combinatorial biology covers plants, animals and terrestrial microorganisms. This will open up opportunities to collaborate with companies that focus on non-marine sources of genetic diversity." CONTACT: ChromaXome Corporation Robert E. Leach, 619/453-5877 x 20 Michael C. Dickman, 619/453-5877 x 13 |
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