Artemis Pharmaceuticals and the Medical Research Council sign license agreement for the use of genetic models of disease
6 December 2005
Artemis Pharmaceuticals GmbH (Cologne, Germany) and the Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation Unit (MRC PPU, UK) have signed an important new license agreement. The MRC PPU has granted Artemis rights to distribute and use certain genetically engineered mouse models developed at the Unit. Under this agreement Artemis will sell these models which have innovative modifications in certain key genes which code for proteins or enzymes known as kinases that affect many signaling pathways in the body.
Protein kinases have profound effects on the cells of the human body. They play an essential role in signaling pathways and disregulated kinase activity is a frequent cause of severe illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. The transgenic models, designed by a research team at the MRC PPU, serve as valuable exploration tools to discover the mechanisms or pathways underlying human disease. They can be used in academic research and drug discovery to identify and characterise new inhibitors of particular kinases. These inhibitors may then be developed as potential treatments for a wide range of disease.
Artemis will distribute the kinase models to pharmaceutical and biotech companies as well as academic institutions. In addition Artemis will be able to use the kinase models together with its own proprietary gene modification technologies, and thereby provide more useful and target-specific models to its customers.
Sir Philip Cohen, director of the MRC PPU said: “We are delighted with this agreement, which will enable our models to be distributed much more efficiently to the pharmaceutical industry and other research institutions worldwide. It will also allow these genetic strains of mice to be used widely for assessing the roles of protein kinases as drug targets for human disease. It demonstrates how scientists can translate basic science into better healthcare for all. The Unit’s work on kinases was made possible through public funding which helped recognise the kinases as a key target for pharmaceutical companies to develop therapeutic treatments for disease. The revenue we generate under this agreement will be ploughed back to expand other academic research programmes in this area.”
Professor Peter Stadler, Managing Director of Artemis said: "We are very pleased about our new relationship with Professor Cohen's Unit. The MRC PPU represents 15 years of world class science. We will make the kinase mouse models available for pharmaceutical research and are sure that they can make a significant contribution to drug innovation as many of the future drugs will be specific inhibitors of protein kinases.
For further information please contact:
Medical Research Council
Press Office
+44 (0) 207 7637 6011
press.office@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk
Artemis Pharmaceuticals GmbH
Monika Hahn
Tel: +49(0)221-96453-10
m.hahn@artemispharma.de
Notes to Editors:
About Artemis
Artemis Pharmaceuticals has developed the world wide leading portfolio of scientific and technological tools in mouse related molecular genetics and functional genomics. It offers custom made genetically engineered models for in vivo use at various stages of the drug discovery process or for academic research. Artemis has formed a strategic alliance with Taconic, one of the world wide leading breeders of laboratory animals. This alliance enables the generation and delivery of models to customers with an unprecedented speed and quality.
Artemis customers include Merck, Inc., Sanofi-Aventis, Bayer AG, Boehringer Ingelheim, Astra Zeneca, Glaxo Smith Kline, Schering AG, Merck KGaA, Biovitrum AB, Evotec, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Acceleron Pharma, ITI Lifsciences, other companies and various academic Research Institutions worldwide. Artemis is a wholly owned subsidiary of Exelixis, Inc., South San Francisco, CA. USA (NASDAQ:EXEL) since 2001. Web site at: www.artemispharma.de.
About the MRC PPU
The MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading centres studying the role of protein phosphorylation in cell regulation and human disease. It is also recognised for its innovative partnerships with industry including a collaboration with AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and co, Merck KGaA and Pfizer.
About the MRC
The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a national organisation funded by the UK tax-payer. Its business is medical research aimed at improving human health; everyone stands to benefit from the outputs. The research it supports and the scientists it trains meet the needs of the health services, the pharmaceutical and other health-related industries and the academic world. MRC has funded work which has led to some of the most significant discoveries and achievements in medicine in the UK. About half of the MRC’s expenditure of £510 million is invested in its 40 Institutes, Units and Centres. The remaining half goes in the form of grant support and training awards to individuals and teams in universities and medical schools.
