LA JOLLA, Calif., April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- SIBIA Neurosciences, Inc.
(Nasdaq: SIBI) today announced that it has entered into a non-exclusive
license agreement with SmithKline Beecham for U.S. patent 5,401,629 ('629) and
additional patents. The patented technology covers a drug screening method
called a transcription-based assay (TBA), a functional cell-based assay which
provides an indirect measure of the activity of certain cell surface
molecules. This functional cell-based assay enables the identification of
active compounds from large collections of compounds. SIBIA will receive
annual maintenance payments for use of the technology and royalty payments if
compounds discovered as a result of this technology lead to commercial
products.
"We are pleased that SmithKline Beecham is the second large pharmaceutical
company to obtain a license from SIBIA under the '629 patent in the past
several weeks," said Stephen F. Keane, SIBIA's Vice President of Corporate
Development. "We are currently in negotiations with a number of other
companies for licenses to this patented technology and anticipate that such
licenses will generate additional revenue for SIBIA."
SIBIA Neurosciences, Inc. is engaged in the discovery and development of
novel small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative,
neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders, many of which have large patient
populations and represent critical unmet medical needs. SIBIA is a leader in
the development of proprietary drug discovery platforms that combine key tools
necessary for modern drug discovery, including genomics, high throughput
screening, advanced combinatorial chemistry techniques and pharmacology. The
Company's proprietary molecular targets and drug candidates, together with its
drug discovery technologies and research expertise, have enabled the Company
to establish several corporate collaborations, which currently include
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd., and multiple
technology licensing arrangements.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those
discussed herein. These risks and uncertainties include risks and
uncertainties regarding the Company's ongoing litigation with Cadus, including
uncertainties regarding appeals and related proceedings, risks and
uncertainties regarding the Company's patents, risks relating to SIBIA's
ability to enter into additional '629 patent licenses or generate substantial
licensing revenue from its '629 patent or other technologies, the risk that
license revenue could be significantly reduced as a result of future
developments relating to the Cadus litigation, whether SIBIA will be able to
meet its development goals, the new and uncertain state of SIBIA's
technologies, SIBIA's future capital needs and the uncertainty of receiving
additional funding, and other research, development and market risks. These
and other risks and uncertainties are more fully set forth in SIBIA's most
recently filed Forms 10-Q and 10-K.
SOURCE SIBIA Neurosciences, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.sibia.com
CONTACT:
Stephen F. Keane, VP, Corporate Development
of SIBIA Neurosciences, Inc., 619-452-5892, ext. 223
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