Axiom, Biacore Will Jointly Commercialize Compound Profiling Instrumentation
Axiom gains access to an internationally known and respected marketer of lead discovery and target validation tools.
Axiom Biotechnologies Inc. (San Diego, CA) has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Biacore (Uppsala, Sweden) to market Axiom's new, high-throughput pharmacology system, Expected to be launched in late 2001, HT-PS 100 will complement Biacore's own molecular based high-performance analytical systems currently under development. In combination, these two systems will allow Biacore to offer pharmaceutical companies fully integrated cellular- and molecular- assays that the companies hope will accelerate lead compound identification.
As part of this licensing deal, Biacore has made an equity investment of $4 million in Axiom. Lars-Göran Andrén, executive chairman of Biacore, will become a director of Axiom. Biacore has also been granted an option to license Axiom's multi-channel, high-throughput system, HT-PS Ultra, at a later date.
Axiom's fully automated cell-based flow-through HT-PS 100 quickly evaluates and characterizes the activity, potency, target specificity, and cell-type selectivity of compounds by detecting subtle changes in intracellular ion concentrations. Such changes are well-characterized indicators of receptor-mediated physiological activity. Based on novel technologies, HT-PS 100 performs functional assays in a fully integrated format that dramatically accelerates data collection and compound characterization, while at the same time significantly cutting costs.
Pandi Veerapandian, chairman and president of Axiom, said "Biacore's decision to take an equity position in our company, and have Lars-Göran join our Board, supports our view of the exciting potential for cell based assay systems. Axiom's pharmacology tools and Biacore's existing instrumentation, coupled with the new products they have planned, will provide a suite of systems to cater to the needs of the drug discovery industry."
According to Biacore president Ulf Jonsson, the ability to market the HT-PS 100 provides his company with a product "highly complementary" to their surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing technology. "Taken together these two systems will put Biacore in a very strong position to achieve its goal of becoming a major supplier of technology to drug discovery."
Biacore's instrumentation relies on surface plasmon resonance (SPR), which occurs when surface plasmon waves are excited at a metal/liquid interface. Light is directed at, and reflected from, the side of the surface not in contact with sample, and SPR causes a reduction in the reflected light intensity at a specific combination of angle and wavelength. Biomolecular binding events cause changes in the refractive index at the surface layer, which are detected as changes in the SPR signal. In general, the refractive index change for a given change of mass concentration at the surface layer, is practically the same for all proteins and peptides, and is similar for glycoproteins, lipids, and nucleic acids.
This deal with Biacore allows Axiom to develop more bioassays, add more information to its database, and provide lead optimization services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Axiom expects this system will be launched in 2001.
About the Companies
Privately-held Axiom Biotechnologies focuses on improving the efficiency of drug discovery by its "hits-to-leads" technologies to lead profiling. Axiom's flagship High-throughput Pharmacology System (HT-PS) combines proprietary natural cell-based assays, high-throughput automated instrumentation, and novel pharmacoinformatics and biomining tools to assess lead compounds based on their functional pharmacological properties.
Biacore, which specializes in affinity-based biosensors, targets medical and life science laboratories with a worldwide sales force. Biacore has recognized drug discovery as a prime area of future growth. The company currently has five systems on the market with its BIACORE3000 system offering specific application in drug discovery processes upstream of high-throughput screening (HTS). A new high-performance system, currently in development, will focus on applications downstream of HTS. Future SPR array screening systems will further strengthen Biacore's product portfolio across a wide range of biological applications.
For more information: Stephen Eisold, Chief Executive Officer, Axiom Biotechnologies Inc., 3550 General Atomics Court, San Diego, CA, 92121-1194. Tel: 858-455-4500. Fax: 858-455-4501.