ALTANA to establish Genomics Research Center in the US

12-Nov-2001

In the course of its US strategy, Byk Gulden (Constance), the pharmaceuticals division of ALTANA AG, and GPC Biotech (Munich/Martinsried) will form a technology alliance in the fields of genomics/proteomics and bioinformatics. Together with its US subsidiary, ALTANA Inc., Byk Gulden will set-up its own genomics Research Center in Waltham/Boston. From 2001 to 2007 ALTANA will commit a total investment of US$120 million.

In establishing the center, ALTANA pursues important research and strategic goals including the further enhancement of the presently used genetic engineering technologies up to, so called, functional genomics/proteomics. They help to decode complex cell functions and to detect genomically-steered malfunctions. Also, Boston is an excellent location within the international research environment on the American east-coast to participate in the outstanding scientific efforts of American research facilities.

“With GPC we have found an ideal partner to gain the technological know-how within the field of genomics/proteomics. We want to profit from GPC Biotech’s experience as a transatlantic biotech company, in order to strengthen our presence on the US pharmaceuticals market with our own innovative products in the long run”, says Hans-Joachim Lohrisch, member of the ALTANA AG managing board.

Besides its own technologies, the ALTANA research center will be equipped with a broad GPC Biotech technology platform. For this means, sophisticated processes and techniques of genomic, proteomic, automation and bioinformation technologies will be made available within the framework of a license agreement. ALTANA’s allowance for utilization will last above the year 2007. The total investment for the technology transfer will amount to approximately US$ 60 million in committed funding. A further US$ 50 million will be invested by ALTANA for equipping the laboratories as well as for its own research staff. The remaining expenditures of about US$ 10 million will be spent on other services.

ALTANA’s scientific experience gained from its previous cooperation with GPC Biotech is helpful for the build up of the research center. “The solid cooperation, which since 1998 has been especially intensified in the fields of target finding and validation, serves as a basis for the research alliance. In this respect, GPC’s know-how regarding a broad technology platform, as well as their experience in early drug discovery are of significance”, says Prof. Dr. Heinz Radtke, Executive Vice President R&D.

The technology transfer will help ALTANA to build up an own functional genomics/proteomics facility in the US within the next years, to be able to catch up with pharmaceutical companies with technologically fully integrated research.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/5814/altana-to-establish-genomics-research-center-in-the-us.html