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For Immediate Release, October 1, 2001 Integrative
Proteomics™ and the University of Toronto TORONTO, ONTARIO (October 1, 2001) – Integrative Proteomics, Inc.™ (IPI), a leader in the rapid interrogation of targets to accelerate the design of new medicines, announced a joint research and licensing agreement with the University of Toronto to functionally map certain pathogenic bacterial proteomes. The joint bacterial proteomics effort by IPI and the University of Toronto will receive additional funding from the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund (ORDCF), which is designed to catalyze strategic relationships between industry and academia. As an industry partner in the ORDCF project, IPI’s effort also augments the University of Toronto’s Genome Canada-supported Functional Genomics and Proteomics projects. The estimated joint contributions of the ORDCF, Genome Canada, the University of Toronto and IPI will initially exceed US $9 million and may be expanded in the future. The joint effort leverages IPI’s proprietary high throughput processes, including high throughput mass spectroscopy characterization of proteins and the University of Toronto’s world-class capabilities in bacteriology and mass spectroscopy. Dr. Peter B. Munsche, Assistant Vice-President, Technology Transfer at the University of Toronto, lauded the effort as “a premier example of how scientific collaboration between academe and industry can leverage significant new investment in biotechnology. We are delighted that IPI’s industry leading capabilities will join forces with the University’s scientific excellence in this important project.” “Our combined efforts will generate information about protein complexes of pathogenic bacteria at a scale the academic research world could never have contemplated without the industrial partnership of IPI,” said Dr. Jack Greenblatt, Principal Investigator of the project and Professor of Medical Research at the University of Toronto. “This proteomics project represents an incredible opportunity to accelerate science for medicine. Our collaborative efforts will generate genome-scale biological information to create comprehensive ‘network diagrams’ for the nano-biomachines of entire organisms.” “The IPI University of Toronto Bacterial Proteomics effort represents the start of a new age of joint research efforts between academia and industry by aligning commercial and academic interests. By combining our resources early on, we are able to minimize duplication of effort, and achieve earlier breakthroughs for science and medicine,” Dr. John D. Mendlein, Chairman and CEO of IPI, stated. “Our joint efforts aim to provide a massive knowledge base to fight infectious disease.” IPI was founded in August, 2000 by Drs. Aled Edwards, Cheryl Arrowsmith and Jack Greenblatt. IPI has raised US $33 million since its inception. The Company’s proprietary Pharmaceutical ProteomicsTM platform features mass spectrometry, NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography technologies from Bruker Daltonics (NASDQ: BDAL), Bruker BioSpin and Bruker AXS, respectively. The Company’s processes enable high throughput target production and the determination of target function and structure to accelerate chemistry. The Company’s Pharmaceutical Proteomics™ Platform also integrates the premier discovery capabilities of Aurora Biosciences to enhance IPI’s internal drug discovery efforts. IPI has more than 50 employees, 70 percent of whom hold advanced degrees. The Company’s investors include the Lombard Odier Immunology Fund, Genesys Capital Partners Inc., and HBM BioVentures (Henri B. Meier, Chairman), as well as industrial partners Aurora Biosciences and the Bruker Companies. For more information, please contact: Integrative
Proteomics, Inc. Contact:
Dr. Joanne E. Harack |