ROCHE BIOSCIENCE, SIGNAL PHARMACEUTICALS
FORM THREE-YEAR RESEARCH ALLIANCE
Roche Bioscience to Utilize Signal's Neuronal Cell Line Technology
In Pain, Lower Urinary Tract Research
PALO ALTO, Calif., and SAN DIEGO, Calif., September 18, 1996 -- Roche Bioscience and Signal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the formation of a three-year collaboration in which Signal will apply its proprietary neuronal cell line technology toward the development of peripheral neuronal cell lines for use in drug discovery and identifying new targets for therapeutic intervention. Roche Bioscience will utilize the technology in its research focused on new therapeutics for pain and lower urinary tract disorders. The alliance is the first based on Signal's neuroscience technology.
According to the agreement, Roche Bioscience will provide research funding, make milestone payments and pay a license fee in return for worldwide exclusive marketing and manufacturing rights for compounds arising from the collaboration. Signal will retain the cell lines for use in other fields. Other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"Signal's cutting edge and innovative work with human cell line technologies provides a strong platform for our programs and expertise in the peripheral nervous system research area," said Roger Whiting, Ph.D., head of the Roche Bioscience Neurobiology Business unit. "This agreement fits well with our overall alliance strategy of partnering with companies with whom we can have synergistic interactions that lead to more productive drug discovery."
"Signal's technology to produce human neuronal cell lines is a milestone achievement in neurobiological research," said Alan J. Lewis, president and chief executive officer of Signal. "We anticipate that our proprietary technology, in combination with Roche Bioscience's leadership position in pain and lower urinary tract therapy, will result in a very powerful discovery program."
Pharmaceutical research in the neuroscience field has been hindered by an inability to grow human neuronal cells stably for study. Because of this limitation, researchers must use either non-human cells, or neuronal receptors cloned into non-neuronal cells, as discovery tools. These cells do not fully replicate the structure and functions of human neuronal cells, and therefore are not ideal tools for identifying disease mechanisms and drug targets. Signal has developed proprietary technology for generating cloned neurons that are human, stable and fully functional, without using tumor cells. These neuronal cell lines will be used in combination with genomic and other technologies to identify the underlying mechanisms of neurological disorders, and to screen for new classes of drugs with improved pharmacological effects.
Located in Palo Alto, California, Roche Bioscience is a research-based, business-oriented organization dedicated to the discovery and early clinical development of innovative prescription drugs. Roche Bioscience is a member of the Roche Group, which has headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. Roche Group sales in 1995 were $14.7 billion.
Signal, founded in 1993, is an integrated target and drug discovery company focused on small molecule drugs that modulate gene expression. These drugs represent a new class of pharmaceuticals that target key signaling proteins responsible for regulating genes and the production of disease-causing proteins.
Signal has research collaborations with Tanabe Seiyaku of Japan and Organon NV of the Netherlands. Signal is financed by venture capital from Accel Partners, Venrock Associates, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, Harry F. Hixson, Ph.D., Interwest Partners, Oxford Partners, U.S. Venture Partners, and The Vertical Group.
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