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TI IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. and Caprion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Announce Collaboration On Development of Proprietary Reagents for Diagnosis of Mad Cow Disease
IA http://www.caprion.com/press.html
VT
WESTBROOK, Maine; August 30, 1999 - IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. and Caprion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that they will collaborate on the development of Caprion's proprietary reagents for the diagnosis of Mad Cow Disease and other Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs).
IDEXX will receive exclusive global rights for veterinary applications in diagnostics and therapeutics, while Caprion retains all rights to human diagnostic and therapeutic applications. IDEXX has made an equity investment in Caprion, and will support research at Caprion's Montreal-based laboratories. IDEXX will also conduct development work in its laboratory in Westbrook, Maine, contributing expertise in diagnostic test development. IDEXX will market veterinary products resulting from the collaboration and pay Caprion royalties on product sales.
The goal of the collaboration is development of a rapid diagnostic for detecting Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as Mad Cow Disease, in live cattle. Current detection methods require brain tissue samples from slaughtered animals. A live animal diagnostic would allow governments and producers to implement cost-effective surveillance programs to protect and validate disease-free status.
Abnormal prion proteins, thought to trigger BSE, are also associated with the human condition, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). The recent emergence of "new variant CJD" in the United Kingdom and France is believed to be linked to BSE-diseased cattle.
"BSE and other TSEs are important health concerns," stated Dr. Erwin Workman, executive vice president and chief scientific officer of IDEXX. "The veterinary market currently has no proven diagnostic for BSE in live cattle. Caprion's reagents and skills in the prion field position us well to take on this important challenge in veterinary health care."
"IDEXX's depth in product development and in marketing and sales of advanced veterinary diagnostic technology makes them an ideal partner for Caprion," stated Lloyd M. Segal, president and CEO of Caprion. "Their ability to transform sound technologies into marketable products is well proven."
IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. is a world leader in providing diagnostic, detection and information systems for veterinary, food and water testing applications. The Company also operates an international network of veterinary reference laboratories and is a leader in the veterinary software and informatics market. IDEXX entered the veterinary pharmaceuticals market with its acquisition of Blue Ridge Pharmaceuticals in October 1998. Headquartered in Westbrook, Maine, IDEXX employs more than 2,000 people and offers over 350 products to customers in more than 50 countries.
Caprion Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a privately held Montreal-based biopharmaceutical company exploiting "shape-shifting" proteins as targets for diagnostics and therapeutic intervention. Prion proteins are the best-known shape-shifters and are the focus of Caprion's earliest products. Caprion is using its expertise in protein conformational change as a key interventional target in the development of neurological and immunological therapies.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Denise Sposato, IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., One IDEXX Drive, Westbrook, Maine, 04092 (207) 856-0322, (207) 856-0319 (fax), www.idexx.com
Lloyd M. SegalI, Caprion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 5375 Pare Street, Suite 201, Montreal, Qc, Canada, H4P 1P7, (514) 940-3604, (514) 874-9077 (fax), www.caprion.com
IN Die im kanadischen Montreal beheimatete und auf Diagnostik und Therapie von Krankheiten aufgrund ihre Form verändernder Proteine spezialisierte biopharmazeutische Caprion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (www.caprion.com) will einen TSE-Test entwickeln. Sie sicherte sich dazu die finanzielle Unterstützung der IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (www.idexx.com), welche auch die Vermarktung im Bereich Veterinärmedizin übernehmen soll. Caprion Pharmaceuticals behauptet, einen Rezeptor für das Prionprotein sowie für das proteaseresistente Prionprotein spezifische Antikörper kloniert zu haben. Damit wollen sie binnen 12-18 Monaten (vom September 1999 an) einen pre-mortem Test für BSE, scrapie und die Creutzfeldt-Jakob-Krankheit entwickeln.
SP englisch