Novartis and Geneva Proteomics Establish Strategic Proteomics Alliance

18-Oct-2000

Basel, Switzerland and Geneva, Switzerland - 17 October, 2000 – Novartis Pharma AG and Geneva proteomics, Inc. (GeneProt™) today announced that they have formed an alliance in proteomics to discover novel therapeutics, targets and biomarkers. Over the course of the collaboration, GeneProt will analyze the protein profile (proteome) of three human diseased tissues or body fluids and their healthy counterparts. Novartis will make a total equity investment of USD 43 Million and will become GeneProt's preferred pharmaceutical partner. This investment will contribute to the expansion of GeneProt's staff over the next few months. The effectiveness of the transaction is subject to receipt of regulatory approval.

The elucidation of the human proteome represents a unique opportunity to give a better understanding of the physiological functions of various proteins in cells, tissues and body fluids. GeneProt has developed an efficient approach to elucidate the involvement of proteins in the disease process and to select and synthesize small novel proteins and peptides. Novartis will select three disease tissues or body fluids on which GeneProt will work in the course of the collaboration. Potentially interesting proteins or peptides will be selected by Novartis for further research and development. Of interest are molecules with therapeutic potential as well as novel targets to be used in Novartis' lead discovery and characterization process and biomarkers which can be measured directly and could be correlated either to disease state or to efficacy and side effects of therapies. By focusing on human tissues, the pace of discovery and relevance in humans is greatly accelerated.

Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis will also pay defined proteome fees of USD 41 million over the course of four years. Further license fees, milestone payments and reimbursements are possible for GeneProt subject to outcomes according to predefined criteria. Novartis will gain exclusivity for three years or longer for several hundred molecules and information on expression patterns studied in the alliance.

"The collaboration with GeneProt complements our in-house research activities in functional genomics and proteomics and strengthens our position as leading in the post-genomics area. GeneProt is an ideal partner for us providing us with industrial scale analysis", said Dr. Paul Herrling, Head of Novartis Pharma Research.

Cédric Loiret-Bernal, M.D., GeneProt's CEO, stated: " We welcome Novartis' partnership in this exciting endeavor. Benefiting from Novartis' scientific leadership and expertise, we look forward in establishing GeneProt as a leading proteomics company."

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/205/novartis-and-geneva-proteomics-establish-strategic-proteomics-alliance.html