Munich, Germany
January 31, 2005
Icon Genetics AG
(ICON) announced today that it has entered into collaborative
agreements with Bayer
CropScience to evaluate the expression levels and quality of
selected pre-clinical pharmaceutical proteins expressed in
highly-specialized plant varieties. Terms of the agreements were
not disclosed.
The alliance centers around the utilization of Icon Genetics.
proprietary magnICON® biomanufacturing platform technology,
which provides a process for producing therapeutic and other
high-value recombinant proteins using non-food plants as
production hosts. This innovative technology ensures the highest
possible yield of a recombinant protein in a plant cell, and
allows for rapid production of adequate quantities of such
proteins as necessary for clinical trials, thus eliminating many
conventional research, development and production constraints.
The technology is also fully scalable and biosafe, as it relies
on fully contained (greenhouse) plant cultivation.
"We welcome this relationship with Bayer CropScience, a global
industry leader," said Yuri Gleba, CEO of Icon Genetics. "This
collaboration is expected to create very significant product
development and manufacturing opportunities for both companies."
Bayer CropScience, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales
of about EUR 5.8 billion (2003), is one of the world's leading
innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop
protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant
biotechnology. The company offers an outstanding range of
products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable
agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer
CropScience has a global workforce of about 19,000 and is
represented in more than 120 countries, ensuring proximity to
dealers and consumers. |