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Published: 06:00 21.12.2004 GMT+1 /HUGIN /Source: Innogenetics /BXS: INNX /ISIN: BE0160220738
Innogenetics reaches first milestone in development of rapid molecular microbiology testing
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Innogenetics earns milestone payment from Roche Diagnostics
Gent (Belgium), December 21, 2004, 6:00 AM - Belgian biopharmaceutical company Innogenetics today announced that they have successfully achieved their first milestone pertaining to the May 2001 Research and Development Collaboration Agreement with Roche Diagnostics regarding the development of a rapid molecular microbiology testing assay. Having reached this milestone, Innogenetics is set to receive a payment of €5 million from Roche before the end of the year.
Detecting the nature of a bacterial or fungal infection is currently a long and tedious process. Classic blood culturing procedures can take up to several days before the physician obtains clear results as to the causative infectious agents. By combining Innogenetics' proprietary spacer technology and broad know-how with Roche's PCR-based analytical platforms, the new tests will provide speed, sensitivity, and specificity, permitting the identification of microorganisms within a timeframe of only a few hours. This could provide physicians with key results much more rapidly, thereby enabling efficient therapy in a timely manner.
Paul Magrez, interim CEO of Innogenetics, commented: "We are well on our way to change the paradigm of microbiology testing. These products are set to transform the management of infections in hospitals by significantly accelerating diagnosis of fungal, gram-positive, and gram-negative pathogens. Early and rapid diagnosis will be especially relevant in intensive care hospital units where the life-threatening risks of conditions such as sepsis often occur."
The Research and Development Collaboration Agreement provides for additional milestones to Innogenetics upon completion of specified deliverables defined in the development program. In addition, Innogenetics will receive royalties on product sales from Roche under the License Agreement that was also signed with Roche in May 2001.
About Innogenetics
Innogenetics is an international biopharmaceutical company building parallel businesses in the areas of specialty diagnostics and therapeutic vaccines.
In 2003, total revenues increased to €73 million, with a profitable Specialty Diagnostics Division. Its Diagnostics Division develops a large number of specialty products covering three areas: infectious diseases (hepatitis C, hepatitis B, and HIV), genetic testing (HLA tissue typing and cystic fibrosis), and neurodegeneration (Alzheimer's disease). In its Therapeutics Division, Innogenetics focuses on the development of therapeutic vaccines to address unmet medical needs in the field of infectious diseases, with two compounds now in clinical trials (hepatitis C in phase 2 and hepatitis B in phase 1).
With a strong commercially oriented management team and distinctive dual business model, Innogenetics provides a low-risk biotech investment with potentially high returns. Founded in 1985, Innogenetics is listed on Euronext Brussels. Innogenetics' headquarters are in Gent, Belgium, with sales affiliates in the United States, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. Innogenetics employs 590 people worldwide and has a market capitalization of approximately €360 million.
For further information, please contact:
Innogenetics
Jean-Christophe Donck
Vice President - Investor Relations & Strategic Planning
Tel +32 (0)9 329 1701
E-mail jeandon@innogenetics.com
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