FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BioSeek Achieves Milestone in Collaboration with Dynavax
BioMAP® Systems Used
to Characterize Novel Compound Activities
Burlingame, Calif. – March 2, 2005 – BioSeek,
Inc. today announced that it has achieved a key milestone in
its previously announced development collaboration with Dynavax
Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq: DVAX), and has received a
milestone payment from Dynavax, a biotechnology company focused
on products to treat and prevent allergies, infectious diseases,
cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases.
In the collaboration, BioSeek has used its proprietary
BioMAP® Systems to characterize the biological activity
of a novel family of TNF-alpha inhibitors known as thiazolopyrimidines
(or TZPs). Dynavax is conducting research on orally available
small molecules in this compound class for potential treatment
of chronic inflammatory diseases. Under the terms of the agreement,
BioSeek is eligible for additional milestone payments and royalties
on future product sales. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Our success in reaching this milestone demonstrates
the ability of our BioMAP Systems to define mechanisms of action
of novel drug candidates in the context of complex human disease
biology,” commented Peter D. Staple, chief executive
officer of BioSeek. "We are pleased that we have been able
to contribute to understanding the function and potential therapeutic
utility of these compounds for Dynavax."
"BioSeek has provided us with important insights
into the activity of our compounds,” said Robert L. Coffman,
Ph.D., vice president and chief scientific officer, Dynavax. “We
are impressed with the disease-relevant information generated,
relating to mechanism of action, and the quality of interaction
with the BioSeek team.”
About BioMAP® Systems
BioMAP Systems are primary human cell-based assay
systems engineered to capture the complexity of human disease
biology. In each System, combinations of human primary cells
are activated in complex environments, replicating intricate
cell and pathway interactions found in human physiology. Depending
on their mechanism of action, compounds induce specific changes
in the expression of protein readouts, producing a BioMAP profile.
New BioMAP profiles are benchmarked against a large number
of reference profiles in BioSeek’s database using proprietary
algorithms to characterize drug function, including mechanism
of action and secondary or off-target activities, and to provide
insights into clinical applications. This drug discovery platform
can detect and distinguish a broad range of mechanistically
diverse compound classes, enabling rapid identification of
lead compounds with activities that are most relevant for developing
safe, effective therapeutics.
About BioSeek
BioSeek uses its proprietary BioMAP® systems
biology platform to discover and develop drug candidates
based on their performance in complex human biology environments.
With this technology, BioSeek has generated several internal
small-molecule development programs for treatment of inflammatory
diseases, and is identifying and accelerating development
of promising new therapeutics for biotechnology and pharmaceutical
company partners. For more information, go to www.bioseekinc.com.
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