GNSC Genaissance Pharmaceuticals (MM)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. and TOKYO, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:GNSC) today announced that it has entered into a pharmacogenomic research collaboration with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Under the terms of the agreement, Genaissance will apply its HAP(TM) Technology with the goal of identifying genetic markers related to drug response. Genaissance and Otsuka will be co-owners of the intellectual property that results from the collaboration and both companies will be eligible to receive royalties on revenues generated from diagnostic products resulting from the collaboration. "We are very pleased that we will be collaborating with Otsuka," said Kevin Rakin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Genaissance Pharmaceuticals. "We believe this agreement is another indication that pharmacogenomics is becoming an important tool for drug development." About Otsuka Founded in 1964, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is a healthcare company with the mission statement: "Otsuka -- people creating new products for better health worldwide." Otsuka researches, develops, manufactures and markets innovative products, focusing its core businesses on pharmaceutical products for the treatment of disease and consumer products for the promotion of everyday health. The Otsuka Pharmaceutical Group includes 73 companies around the world, employs 23,000 people, and has total annual revenues of $4.4 billion. About Genaissance Pharmaceuticals Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is developing innovative products based on its proprietary pharmacogenomic technology and has a revenue-generating business in DNA and pharmacogenomic products and services. Genaissance also markets its proprietary FAMILION(TM) Test, designed to detect mutations responsible for causing Familial Long QT and Brugada Syndromes, two causes of sudden cardiac death. The Company's product development strategy is focused on drug candidates with promising clinical profiles and finding genetic markers to identify a responsive patient population. This strategy is designed to enable Genaissance to leverage existing clinical data and, thus, reduce the costs and risks associated with traditional drug development and increase the probability of clinical success and commercialization. The Company's lead therapeutic product, vilazodone for depression, is in Phase II of development. For more information on Genaissance, visit the Company's website at: http://www.genaissance.com/. This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the expected collaboration between Genaissance and Ipsogen and the package of gene expression and genotyping technologies to be co-marketed to developers and marketers of cancer drugs. Such statements are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, events and performance to differ materially from those referred to in such statements, including, but not limited to, the extent to which the technologies, services and diagnostic capabilities to be co-marketed by Genaissance and Ipsogen are predictive of clinical outcomes and drug response and toxicity in oncology, acceptance and adoption by the pharmaceutical industry of the technologies, services and diagnostic capabilities to be co-marketed, the amount and timing of resources that Genaissance and Ipsogen devote to their collaboration, competition from pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostics companies, the strength of their intellectual property rights and those risks identified by Genaissance in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2005, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 9, 2005, and in other filings Genaissance makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgment of Genaissance and Ipsogen as of the date of this release. Genaissance and Ipsogen disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statement. DATASOURCE: Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Krishnan Nandabalan, Ph.D., Vice President, Corporate Development, +1-203-786-3445, , Carol R. Reed, M.D., Vice President, Medical Affairs, +1-203-786-3617, , both of Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; or Rhonda Chiger, +1-917-322-2569, , of Rx Communications for Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Web site: http://www.genaissance.com/

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