Icoria’s 6th fungicide target patent reinforces proprietary target discovery capability

Icoria, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICOR), an integrated systems biology company, today announced that it has been granted U.S. Patent No. 6,806,060, titled “Methods for the Identification of Inhibitors of Threonine Synthase as Antibiotics.” This patent covers the discovery of a novel gene target for antibiotic development in a biochemical pathway by which fungi produce threonine, a nutrient necessary for fungal growth and development. The patent also covers methods enabling the discovery of chemicals that inhibit protein activity within this pathway. Chemical compounds discovered by Icoria’s patented method may lead to the development of novel, more effective, and less toxic fungicides, which are highly sought after throughout the agricultural industry. Fungicide sales in 2003 were $6 billion worldwide and represented about 20% of global agrichemical product sales.

“The issuance of this patent, the sixth in our fungicide target patent portfolio, further demonstrates the utility of our proprietary TAG-KO technology for identifying novel targets for fungicide discovery and development,” said Keith Davis, Ph.D., Vice President, Agricultural Biotechnology. “This patented target extends our proprietary fungicide target portfolio and increases our opportunity to develop new fungicides with novel sites of action, which are very much in demand in the industry.”

Davis continued, “To capitalize on our growing intellectual property in this area, we are actively developing and implementing assays that will allow us to identify new compounds that act on our patented fungicide targets. By doing so, we are moving our research and discovery efforts further down the product development chain. Fungicides represent an attractive product development path with potential revenue from licensing and R&D collaborations.”

Icoria used its patented TAG-KO® technology (U.S. Patent Nos. 6,562,624 and 6,703,200) to identify the target in the threonine biosynthesis pathway. The TAG-KO® patent covers methods for the rapid and systematic mutation of pathogenic fungi, enabling the efficient identification of novel antifungal and fungicide targets as well as novel biosynthetic and degradation pathways.

TAG-KO® technology may lead to new fungicides, human anti-fungal products, and industrial products.

Icoria (formerly Paradigm Genetics, Inc.) is an integrated systems biology company applying its proprietary platform to the discovery and development of safer, more effective drugs and agrichemicals. Icoria has major contracts with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Bayer CropScience, the Monsanto Company, Pioneer Hi-Bred International (a subsidiary of DuPont) and L'Oréal Inc. Icoria also has a major grant from the National Institute of Standards & Technology's Advanced Technology Program.