Bayer AG (NYSE: BAY) and
Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq:
EXEL) announce that they have completed the genome sequencing
project of a lepidopteran species, Heliothis virescens, an
economically important insect pest commonly known as the tobacco
budworm. The sequencing breakthrough provides, for the first
time, nearly complete analysis of the genes of a lepidopteran
species. The sequencing feat was achieved by Genoptera LLC, the
two companies' ongoing crop protection joint venture, and has
the potential to accelerate and streamline the development of
safe, more innovative insecticides.
Heliothis
is of particular interest to agrochemical companies in the
competition to identify novel, highly selective molecular
targets for insecticides. Until now, scientists had relied on
Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly, as a model system
from which to extrapolate information about what gene products
or proteins could be relevant insecticide targets. Armed with
the Heliothis sequence, and combining Exelixis' and Bayer's
expertise, Genoptera has begun delivering Heliothis targets and
assays to Bayer. Because the assays are based on the pest
species itself, they could lead to more rapid discovery of
novel, more potent and more specific insecticides.
"The joint venture Genoptera has been highly successful and
Bayer is extremely pleased that the alliance with Exelixis has
achieved another significant milestone," said Detlef Wollweber,
head of crop protection research at Bayer. "We believe that
sequencing Heliothis will allow us to identify new targets and
insecticidal compounds more rapidly and thus strengthen our
competitive advantage. Bayer is a leader in using innovative
technologies in crop protection research for the development of
novel, selective insecticides and products with new mechanisms
of action."
"For the first time, scientists will have state-of-the-art
tools with which to identify and screen important genetic
targets derived directly from the agriculturally relevant insect
rather than from a closely-related model system," said George A.
Scangos, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of
Exelixis. "The success of this alliance is based on the
productive interaction between the two companies. By combining
Exelixis' premier sequencing and comparative genomics expertise
with Bayer's superior agricultural discovery platform, we
believe that we have achieved a major milestone in the effort to
develop important new crop preservation and enhancement
products."
The Heliothis sequencing project, which took about one year
to complete, was performed at Exelixis and employed a
methodology designed for maximum efficiency. By combining the
strategies of sequencing expressed sequence tags (ESTs) with a
so-called "shot-gun" sequencing of genomic DNA, Genoptera
scientists were able to identify approximately 90% of the
estimated Heliothis genes. Drawing on past experience with
Drosophila, scientists at Exelixis were able to use proprietary
sophisticated statistical and bioinformatics tools to correlate
moth genetic sequence information with fly genetic sequence
information, rapidly compare the two genomes and identify common
and different genes. In addition to identifying many potentially
high value targets that will remain proprietary to Genoptera,
the analysis also yielded new insights into the size,
organization and gene content of the moth genome. The ultimate
goal of the effort is to enable Bayer, the worldwide commercial
leader in insecticide products, to use this information to
discover and develop novel crop protection products that meet
environmental requirements and have a high degree of commercial
potential.
Genoptera LLC is an Exelixis-Bayer joint venture with the
aim of identifying novel targets and providing assays for the
discovery of new crop protection substances, in particular the
discovery of novel insecticides and nematicides. The 2000 joint
venture included a $20 million up-front payment and
performance-based milestone and royalty payments to Exelixis as
well as $80 million in research funding over the course of the
eight-year joint venture. For more information, please visit
www.genoptera.com.
Bayer is an international, research-based group with core
businesses in health care, agriculture, polymers and specialty
chemicals. In 2001 Bayer had sales of EUR 30.3 billion, net
income of EUR 965 million, and approximately 117,000 employees
at year-end. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.6 billion,
R&D spending to EUR 2.5 billion. For more information, please
visit
www.bayer.com.
Exelixis, Inc. is a leading genomics-based drug discovery
company focused on product development through its expertise in
comparative genomics and model system genetics. These
technologies provide a rapid, efficient and cost effective way
to move from DNA sequence data to knowledge about the function
of genes and the proteins they encode. The company's technology
is broadly applicable to all life sciences industries including
pharmaceutical, diagnostic, agricultural biotechnology and
animal health. Exelixis has partnerships with Aventis
CropScience, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Elan Pharmaceuticals,
Pharmacia, Protein Design Labs, Schering-Plough Research
Institute, Scios Inc. Dow AgroSciences and Cytokinetics, Inc.
and is building its internal development program in the area of
oncology. For more information, please visit the company's web
site at
www.exelixis.com.
