SAN DIEGO, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ Trega Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRGA)
today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued two
patents to ChromaXome Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Trega, giving
it patent protection for a wide variety of combinatorial biology technologies.
The two patents (U.S. Patent Nos. 5,783,431 and 5,824,485) relate to
processes by which DNA from donor organisms is isolated and manipulated to
generate and express novel biosynthetic pathways. The two related patents,
both entitled "Methods for Generating and Screening Novel Metabolic Pathways,"
provide composition and method claims for combinatorial biology processes,
library formats, vector/expression host systems, high throughput screening
formats and library donor material, including environmental samples, for use
in natural products discovery.
"Combinatorial biology applies molecular genetics, industrial microbiology
and high throughput screening technologies to efficiently generate and screen
libraries of recombinant microbes that produce structurally novel and diverse
small molecule natural product pharmaceuticals," said Todd Peterson,
ChromaXome's director of combinatorial biology.
"These patents describe and enable new, exciting technologies for drug
discovery," said Lawrence D. Muschek, Trega's president of research and
development. "For decades biodiversity resources for traditional natural
products discovery have been largely limited to a small fraction of
microorganisms that can be cultured. Over time, traditional efforts have
resulted in diminishing returns. These proprietary technologies provide new
sources of natural products by harnessing greater genetic diversity and
creating unique combinations of biosynthetic genes from different organisms."
Trega Biosciences is a drug discovery company, utilizing combinatorial
chemistry and other molecular diversity 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 class of receptors which may be important in
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 patent can be defended or
successfully utilized, or whether any products, procedures or services
resulting from these patents can be scaled-up, developed, and commercialized,
whether regulatory approvals can be obtained, the impact of competitive
products and pricing, the financial condition of the Company in the future,
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 37405.
SOURCE Trega Biosciences, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.trega.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/374050.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 374050
CONTACT:
Vince Reardon, Director, Corporate
Communications of Trega Biosciences, Inc., 619-410-6555; or Todd
Peterson, Ph.D., Director, Combinatorial Biology of ChromaXome
Corporation, 619-410-6592
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