Exelixis, Inc.
(Nasdaq: EXEL) today announced that it has achieved additional
milestones in its collaboration with Bayer’s crop protection
division through the delivery of assays by their joint venture,
Genoptera LLC. The delivery of these assays triggers undisclosed
milestone payments to Exelixis.
"Through the utilization of Exelixis’ broad
based technology platform, the Genoptera joint venture has
yielded numerous unique, highly validated targets and assays,"
stated George A. Scangos, president and chief executive officer
of Exelixis. "We are pleased with our continued success in the
discovery and delivery of quality targets to our partner, as
well with the progress through Bayer’s ultra high throughput
screening systems of previously accepted targets and assays."
Formed in January 2000, Genoptera LLC focuses on
the discovery of novel insecticides and nematicides. The joint
venture is a continuation and expansion of the collaboration
that Exelixis and Bayer initially established in April 1998 and
expanded in June 1999. In addition to $80 million in committed
research funding over the course of the eight-year joint
venture, the arrangement involves a $20 million up-front payment
and performance-based milestone and royalty payments to
Exelixis. Bayer has the exclusive right to commercialize
insecticides based on technology developed by Genoptera.
Exelixis, Inc. is a leading worldwide
genomics-based drug discovery company focused on product
development through its expertise in comparative genomics and
model system genetics. An outstanding team of company scientists
has developed multiple fungal, nematode, insect, plant and
vertebrate genetic systems. Exelixis’ proprietary model systems
and comparative genomics technologies address gene function by
using biologically relevant functional genomics information very
early on in the process to rapidly, efficiently and
cost-effectively translate sequence data to knowledge about the
function of genes and the proteins that they encode. The company
has a significant internal cancer discovery and drug development
program, through which a number of compounds are expected to
complete screening by the end of the year. Exelixis believes
that its technology is broadly applicable to all life science
industries including pharmaceutical, diagnostic, agricultural
biotechnology and animal health and the company has active
partnerships with Aventis, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb,
Pharmacia Corporation, Protein Design Labs and Dow AgroSciences.