MUNCHEN, Germany, Oct. 25, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- NascaCell IP GmbH announced today that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with GE Healthcare to market aptamers for target validation and drug discovery in Japan. The agreement is part of NascaCell's business strategy to make aptamers available to the life science industry.Under the agreement, NascaCell grants GE Healthcare the exclusive rights to distribute its aptamers in Japan for target validation and drug discovery applications. GE Healthcare will initiate and negotiate agreements with prospective customers for aptamers and related services.
"We are delighted to work together with GE Healthcare to grow the market for aptamers. Because of its excellent recognition and network, GE Healthcare is our first choice as a partner," said Andreas Jenne, Ph.D., NascaCell's co-founder and chief executive officer.
Aptamers are synthetic drug-like molecules that can specifically knock-down protein functions in cells and organisms. Their rapid production and convenient handling mean aptamers can be used in numerous drug discovery applications, such as animal studies or high throughput drug screening (HTS).
About NascaCell
NascaCell IP GmbH, located in Munich, Germany, is a global leader in the automated production and marketing of custom aptamers. Service projects and strategic partnerships are the key components of our business. NascaCell holds an exquisite patent position for the use of aptamers for target validation, functional proteomics and drug discovery with access to over 350 patents and patent applications.
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies that are shaping a new age of patient care. GE Healthcare's expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, disease research, drug discovery and biopharmaceuticals is dedicated to detecting disease earlier and tailoring treatment for individual patients. GE Healthcare offers a broad range of services to improve productivity in healthcare and enable healthcare providers to better diagnose, treat and manage patients with conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer's and cardiovascular diseases.
GE Healthcare is a $14 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) that is headquartered in the United Kingdom. Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 42,500 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com