LEIDEN, Netherlands, Sept. 6, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- TNO, a recognized research and technology organization, and Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation, a leading pharmaceutical company of Japan, announced today that they have entered into a technology development collaboration. In this project, TNO will combine its expertise in siRNA-based, knock-down technology with its long-term experience in disease models to further characterize a set of Mitsubishi's proprietary disease targets. Financial details of the collaboration were not disclosed.
"TNO is very pleased to be selected by Mitsubishi," said Renger Witkamp, Executive Director of TNO Pharma. "This partnership underlines the competitive edge of our Institute in applying siRNA in-vivo expertise with our disease model capabilities in cardiovascular & metabolic and inflammatory diseases."
"We are pleased to announce this collaboration with TNO," said Dr Nakajima, Executive Officer/General Manager of the Pharmaceutical Research Unit for Mitsubishi Pharma. "We will gain access to unique expertise that will provide us with high quality target validation data."
About TNO's pharma activities
TNO's pharma division is a recognized partner for the pharmaceutical and biotech industry and offers a broad array of tailor-made and value-creating expertise and services in the area of drug discovery and development. TNO offers top-level expertise in areas of: cardiovascular, metabolic, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Its unique disease models are supported by expert teams of international scientific reputation. In addition TNO offers a complete GLP compliant portfolio in drug safety, bio-analysis and DMPK. TNO's pharma activities are part of TNO, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research. Further information can be found on: http://www.tno.nl/pharma
About Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation is a global research-driven pharmaceutical company targeting the therapeutic areas of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, psychiatric and central nervous system diseases, immunological and respiratory diseases, and cancer and hepatic diseases. This company was founded by the merger between former Welfide Corporation and Mitsubishi-Tokyo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., on October 1, 2001. Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation has established a strong drug discovery infrastructure to engage in the development of innovative new drugs. www.m-pharma.co.jp