Iconix Announces Chemogenomics Collaborative Relationship with AstraZeneca
02 June 2004 - 11:01PM
PR Newswire (US)
Iconix Announces Chemogenomics Collaborative Relationship with
AstraZeneca MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Iconix
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that AstraZeneca has selected
Iconix to provide advanced chemogenomic profiling and analytical
services for a specific AstraZeneca Cancer drug discovery program,
using Iconix's reference database and predictive biomarkers. Under
the agreement, AstraZeneca will apply Iconix's chemogenomics
platform to developing an understanding of the mechanisms of
toxicity found in specific drug programs. AstraZeneca is also
seeking to identify genomic biomarkers that can be used as
counterscreens in short-term studies. These biomarkers would be
designed to predict the onset of specific toxicologies and would
facilitate the development of follow-up compounds and, potentially,
drug response monitoring in clinical testing. Iconix will utilize
biomarkers of drug pathology and mechanism from its Drug
Signatures(TM) library, the largest collection of predictive
biomarkers in the pharmaceutical industry, for the profiling of
AstraZeneca's compounds. Drug Signatures are derived by Iconix from
its DrugMatrix(R) platform, a large-scale chemogenomics reference
database and informatics system. "We're especially pleased to be
working with AstraZeneca," said Jim Neal, Iconix's CEO, "because
the work focuses on two areas of chemogenomics technology that can
provide great benefits -- predictive toxicology and understanding
the mechanisms of toxicology. Reducing the time to detecting
potential toxicity and developing an understanding of those
toxicities can significantly reduce the cost of drug development in
the clinic." About Iconix: Iconix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is
pioneering the new field of chemogenomics, the integration of
chemistry and genomics to profile drug candidates. Iconix's
chemogenomic capabilities enable pharmaceutical companies to
increase the odds of advancing the right compounds to the clinic,
reducing attrition rates and the costs of drug discovery. Iconix
provides reference systems and know-how to predict toxic
liabilities, side effects and mechanisms of drug candidates. The
company has strategic partnerships with an ecosystem of leading
life sciences companies, including MDS Pharma Services
(NYSE:MDZ)(TSE:MDS), Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) and Amersham
Biosciences (NYSE:AHM) ( LSE: OSE) , and collaborations with
Bristol Myers Squibb, Abbott Laboratories, Eli Lilly,
Schering-Plough, Eisai Co., Ltd. and Millennium Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. Iconix also provides research, training and support to the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and
Research (CDER) under an agreement to advance CDER's study of the
application of genomic technologies in the regulatory approval
process. Iconix's DrugMatrix system has been installed at the FDA
for use by CDER scientists and reviewers in a diverse range of
chemogenomics applications. Headquartered in Mountain View,
California, Iconix was founded in 1998 and is privately held. For
more information, visit http://www.iconixpharm.com/. About
AstraZeneca: AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare
business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and
marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of
healthcare services. It is one of the world's leading
pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of over $18.8
billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal,
oncology, cardiovascular, neuroscience and respiratory products.
AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global
and European) as well as the FTSE4Good Index. Worldwide,
AstraZeneca has six major research and development sites, four
discovery facilities and a clinical research site, in total,
employing more than 11,500 R&D staff members in Canada, France,
India, Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States.
CONTACT: For Iconix Pharmaceuticals Jennifer Larson 415-409-2729
DATASOURCE: Iconix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Jennifer Larson,
+1-415-409-2729, or , for Iconix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Web site:
http://www.iconixpharm.com/
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