SAN DIEGO, May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Trega Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRGA),
a San Diego-based drug discovery company with expertise in combinatorial
chemistry, and IRORI, a privately-held developer of combinatorial chemistry
systems, today announced that Trega has granted IRORI a non-exclusive, world-
wide license to its Tea-Bag technology for use in IRORI's Kan(TM)-style family
of microreactors. Under the terms of the agreement, IRORI will pay an up-
front licensing fee and a royalty on all Kan(TM)-family product sales.
"We are pleased to enter into this licensing agreement with IRORI," said
Robert S. Whitehead, Trega's chairman and chief executive officer. "The Tea-
Bag technology is a unique invention for facilitating the creation of solid-
phase combinatorial chemistry libraries and IRORI's Kan(TM)-family of
microreactors is a valuable research tool for the synthesis of these
libraries."
"The Kan-family is one of several microreactor products we've created for
our AccuTag(TM) Combinatorial Chemistry Systems," said Richard K. Brown, vice
president of business development at IRORI. "We are especially pleased to be
able to enter into this licensing agreement with Trega. Both companies will
realize immediate and future benefits from this cooperative effort. By
exercising an option in the agreement to take royalty payments in IRORI
technology, Trega can obtain access to our AccuTag technology."
Founded in 1995, IRORI is a leading developer of combinatorial chemistry
systems designed to accelerate drug discovery and the identification of novel
compounds. Its AccuTag technology provides researchers with the most economic
means to synthesize large numbers of discrete compounds in quantities large
enough to be useful for analytical testing and biological screenings. The
Company has formed collaborations with DuPont Merck (drug discovery), and
Hewlett Packard (drug discovery technology). IRORI is privately held and
received its initial funding from Enterprise Partners Venture Capital (La
Jolla, CA), the Mayfield Fund (Menlo Park, CA.), and Crosspoint Venture
Partners (Irvine, CA). The Company is headquartered in La Jolla, California
and recently opened IRORI Europe Ltd. near Manchester, England to serve its
European customers.
Trega Biosciences is a drug discovery company, utilizing combinatorial
chemistry and other technologies to pursue the discovery of novel, small-
molecule drug therapies. The company leverages its technology platform by
entering into pharmaceutical alliances, which provide partners with access to
Trega's technologies in exchange for licensing fees and potential milestones
and royalties, or by establishing joint-discovery alliances with
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Trega also uses its drug
discovery technologies in its internal development programs, which are focused
today on discovering small molecules acting on melanocortin receptors.
Melanocortins are a newly discovered receptor pathway for the treatment of
inflammatory and metabolic diseases.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters
discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties, including whether any proposed product can be
successfully formulated, scaled-up, developed, and commercialized, whether
regulatory approvals can be obtained, the impact of competitive products and
pricing, whether any corporate collaborations or alliances will be successful,
and other risks detailed from time to time in Trega's Securities and Exchange
Commission filings. These forward-looking statements represent Trega's
judgment as of the date of this release. Actual results may differ materially
from those projected. Trega disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to
update these forward-looking statements.
Trega's releases are on the World Wide Web at http://www.trega.com and PR
Newswire's fax-on-demand service at 1-800-758-5804, extension 374050.
SOURCE Trega Biosciences, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.trega.com
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com or
fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 374050
CONTACT:
Noel Wheeler, Director, Corporate
Development, 619-410-6630, or Vince Reardon, Director, Corporate
Communications, 619-410-6555, both of Trega Biosciences; or
Richard K. Brown, Vice President, Business Development for IRORI,
619-546-1300; or Media Contact for IRORI: Linda Seaton or Kelly
Steves both of Mentus, 619-455-5500, Ext. 133/129
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