Karolinska Institutet and Affymetrix Announce Translational Medicine Strategic Alliance
08 February 2005 - 7:01PM
PR Newswire (US)
Karolinska Institutet and Affymetrix Announce Translational
Medicine Strategic Alliance Researchers at Karolinska Institutet
Will Undertake Large-Scale Clinical Studies With the Goal of
Translating Basic Research Into Tools for Better Treatment SANTA
CLARA, Calif. and STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- Affymetrix Inc. (NASDAQ:AFFX) and Karolinska Institutet
announced today that they have entered into a strategic alliance
designed to improve healthcare by accelerating the translation of
basic genetic research into tools for better diagnosis, prognosis,
and treatment. During the next five years the projects include
genetic analyses and measurement of gene expression in patients
with atherosclerosis, breast cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma
and dyslexia. These diseases affect a large number of patients
worldwide. Systematic use of the genomic information obtained will
enable development of new and better clinical methods and drugs
hereby reducing mortality and improving quality of life for
patients suffering from these diseases. The Karolinska
Institutet/Affymetrix Translational medicine research projects will
use sufficiently large sample sizes to establish true clinical
relevance of both gene expression and DNA sequence variation in key
areas of unmet medical needs. "Today we have access to a very broad
range of population-based clinical materials and data, that we want
to study in order to understand the importance of genetic factors
for emergence and treatment of various diseases. The agreement
enables us to perform these studies at an acceptable cost and we
will also get access to new technology at an early stage. Our
expectation is that this cooperation will help us to improve
peoples health", said Professor Jan Carlstedt-Duke, dean of
research at Karolinska Institutet. "To improve human health, we
need to shift the healthcare paradigm from diagnosing and treating
existing diseases, to being able to predicting disease
susceptibility and an individual's response to drugs," said Patrick
Kelly, European Site Manager and Vice President, Affymetrix. "This
is what personalized medicine is all about -- enabling clinicians
to detect diseases earlier and manage them more effectively. We are
excited about the potential of this agreement to move the
translational medicine field forward." Karolinska Institutet
agreement is part of the Affymetrix Translational Medicine
Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to bridge the gap between
clinical research and application of genomics in patient care by
bringing together leading clinical research institutes with
advanced Affymetrix microarray technology. Karolinska Institutet
will have access to a number of new microarray technologies from
Affymetrix, including the Mapping 100K. The 100K is the first in a
family of products that will allow researchers at Karolinska
Institutet to perform high-density genome scans and genome-wide
association studies on the genetics of complex diseases. About
Affymetrix: Affymetrix scientists invented the world's first
high-density microarray in 1989 and began selling the first
commercial microarray in 1994. Since then, Affymetrix GeneChip(R)
technology has become the industry standard in molecular biology
research. Affymetrix technology is used by the world's top
pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biotechnology companies as well as
leading academic, government and not-for-profit research
institutes. More than 1,200 systems have been shipped around the
world and nearly 3,000 peer-reviewed papers have been published
using the technology. Affymetrix' patented photolithographic
manufacturing process provides the most information capacity
available today on an array, enabling researchers to use a
whole-genome approach to analyze the relationship between genetics
and health. Affymetrix is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif.,
with manufacturing facilities in Sacramento, Calif., and Bedford,
Mass. The company maintains important sales and marketing
operations in Europe and Asia and has about 900 employees
worldwide. All statements in this press release that are not
historical are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act as amended, including
statements regarding Affymetrix' "expectations," "beliefs,"
"hopes," "intentions," "strategies" or the like. Such statements
are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially for Affymetrix from those projected,
including, but not limited to risks of the Company's ability to
achieve and sustain higher levels of revenue, higher gross margins,
reduced operating expenses, uncertainties relating to technological
approaches, manufacturing, product development, market acceptance,
personnel retention, uncertainties related to cost and pricing of
Affymetrix products, dependence on collaborative partners
(including uncertainties related to the outcome of the
collaboration discussed in this press release), uncertainties
relating to sole source suppliers, uncertainties relating to FDA
and other regulatory approvals, competition, risks relating to
intellectual property of others and the uncertainties of patent
protection and litigation. These and other risk factors are
discussed in Affymetrix' Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2003 and other SEC reports, including its Quarterly Reports on Form
10-Q for subsequent quarterly periods. Affymetrix expressly
disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any
updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained
herein to reflect any change in Affymetrix' expectations with
regard thereto or any change in events, conditions, or
circumstances on which any such statements are based. NOTE:
Affymetrix, the Affymetrix logo, and GeneChip are registered
trademarks owned or used by Affymetrix, Inc. About Karolinska
Institutet: KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET is Sweden's only exclusively
medical university. It is also one of the largest centres of
medical education and research in Europe. Research at Karolinska
Institutet spans a huge area, from sub-cellular structures to
societal ones; from endorphins to the environment. Karolinska
Institutet collaborates internationally and nationally with
healthcare and medical institutes, as well as with industry and
other universities. Our mission is to improve the health of mankind
through research, education and information. Awarding the Nobel
Prize in Physiology or Medicine has given Karolinska Institutet an
invaluable contact network throughout the medical scientific
community. For more information about Karolinska Institutet please
visit the website: http://www.info.ki.se/. DATASOURCE: Affymetrix,
Inc. CONTACT: Wes Conard, Associate Director, Public Relations,
+1-408-731-5791, or Doug Farrell, Vice President, Investor
Relations, +1-408-731-5285, both of Affymetrix, Inc.; or Sabina
Bossi, Pressekreterare/Press Officer of Karolinska Institutet, +46
8 524 838 95, or Web site: http://www.info.ki.se/ Web site:
http://www.affymetrix.com/
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