- New Corporate Identity Reflects Strategic Transformation Into
Cutting-Edge Systems Biology Company -
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Aug. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Paradigm
Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PDGM), announced today that it has changed its
corporate identity to Icoria, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICOR), effective immediately.
Icoria's new website is http://www.Icoria.com .
"This change in our identity communicates two transforming developments in
the life of our company. The first is our evolution to an integrated systems
biology company, providing access to large markets in both healthcare and
agriculture. The second is the continued ascendance of our healthcare
business, aided by the recent acquisition and successful integration of
TissueInformatics.Inc. We are now well positioned to embrace expanded
commercial opportunities in our two markets," said Heinrich Gugger, PhD,
President and CEO of Icoria.
"This represents the culmination of a process of strategic change from a
functional genomics company serving the agrichemical sector to a systems
biology company conducting cutting-edge, product-focused discovery and
development research in both healthcare and agriculture. Icoria is a systems
biology leader, unique in both the breadth of its core technology platforms
and its ability to commercialize those technologies," said G. Steven Burrill,
Chairman of the Board of Icoria.
"Systems biology represents the integration and analysis of multiple
interrelated biological activities in an organism, from molecular cause to
whole organism response. Icoria has not only demonstrated the ability to
bring the requisite technologies together to perform systems biology analyses
but has also shown its ability to commercialize its platform effectively,"
said Lee Hood, PhD, Icoria Board member and President of the Institute for
Systems Biology, Seattle, WA.
In healthcare, Icoria's service offerings include gene expression analysis
services (Paradigm Array Labs), tissue analysis for toxicology testing, and
biomarker-enabled drug discovery. Icoria engages in research and development
collaborations with the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. In
addition, Icoria is applying its systems biology platform to the discovery of
proprietary therapeutics in the areas of liver injury and metabolic disorders,
especially as associated with diabetes and obesity. The uniqueness of
Icoria's proprietary systems biology platform is a direct benefit of the
acquisition of TissueInformatics.Inc, which contributed the ability to
digitally measure tissue phenotype to the company's existing multi-stream data
generation and computational platforms.
In agricultural biotechnology, Icoria's strong reputation for leadership
continues and is expanding into new areas. Through the application of systems
biology, Icoria is identifying modes of action of agrichemicals and is focused
on the discovery and development of proprietary molecules that can enhance
plant productivity by providing resistance to stress and improve nutrient
utilization. In its established partnerships, Icoria continues to identify
specific trait genes that can be used for crop improvement and to participate
in the discovery of novel agrichemicals.
Through access to both markets using a common systems biology platform,
Icoria is poised to expand upon its present revenue stream and further
diversify its customer base, as manifest by the change from two to over thirty
customers in the course of this transition. Icoria has contracted revenues of
$150 million, nearly half of which represent future revenues.
About Icoria, Inc.
Icoria is a biotechnology company applying its proprietary systems biology
platform to the discovery and development of safer, more effective drugs and
agrichemicals. Icoria has major collaborations with the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences, Bayer CropScience, the Monsanto Company,
Pioneer Hi-Bred International (a subsidiary of DuPont), the National Institute
of Standards & Technology's Advanced Technology Program, and L'Oreal Inc. For
more information, visit http://www.Icoria.com .
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including
statements regarding the Company's expectations for using its systems biology
platform to discover biomarkers and inaccessible targets for small molecule
discovery. Such forward-looking statements are based on management's current
expectations and are subject to a number of risks, factors and uncertainties
that may cause actual results, events and performance to differ materially
from those referred to in the forward-looking statements. These risks, factors
and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, Icoria's early stage of
development, history of net losses, technological and product development
uncertainties, reliance on research collaborations, uncertainty of additional
funding and ability to protect its patents and proprietary rights. Certain of
these and other risks are identified in Icoria's annual report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2003 and in its quarterly report on Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended June 30, 2004, each filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. The Company does not intend to update any of the forward-
looking statements after the date of this release to conform these statements
to actual results or to changes in our expectations, except as may be required
by law.
SOURCE Paradigm Genetics, Inc.
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.Icoria.com
http://www.paradigmgenetics.com
CONTACT:
Brian Ritchie or Mark Vincent of EURO RSCG
Life NRP, +1-212-845-4200
|
