Richmond, California
June 5, 2007
Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGMO) today announced
that its partner, Dow
AgroSciences, LLC highlighted the successful collaboration
between the two companies in a recent presentation to investors
on Wall Street. The presentation made by Daniel R. Kittle,
Ph.D., Dow AgroSciences vice president of Research and
Development, was part of the Merrill Lynch Agricultural
Chemicals Conference in New York.
"We continue to be very impressed with our partnership with
Sangamo and with the overall progress of our collaboration,"
said Kittle. "The scientific milestones that we have achieved
mark key events in the application of the ZFP technology toward
trait generation and trait stacking, and importantly were
achieved across different crop plants core to our healthy oils
and crop protection businesses. The ZFN™ technology platform has
significant potential for the development of precision traits."
In a press release distributed earlier today, Dow AgroSciences
said that "Cutting-edge techniques, such as the ability to
precisely target and regulate gene function in plants through an
agreement with Sangamo BioSciences, are enabling the company to
reach key discovery milestones. Dow AgroSciences has been able
to target native genes in canola using engineered ZFN(TM)
technology to affect specific gene sites with exceptional
precision. In addition, ZFNs(TM), designed to specifically
cleave a native corn gene sequence, were used to target a
pre-selected site and enable site-specific transgene
integration. This represents the first successful targeted
integration of DNA into a pre-selected native corn sequence."
The three-year agreement between Dow AgroSciences and Sangamo
BioSciences was initiated in October 2005 and it provides Dow
AgroSciences with access to Sangamo's proprietary zinc finger
DNA-binding protein (ZFP) technology for the development of
products in plants and plant cell cultures. During the initial
three-year research term, Dow AgroSciences has the option to
obtain a commercial license to sell products incorporating or
derived from plant cells generated using Sangamo's ZFP
technology, including agricultural crops, industrial products
and plant-derived biopharmaceuticals.
ZFPs are the dominant class of naturally occurring transcription
factors in organisms from yeast to humans. Transcription
factors, which are found in the nucleus of every cell, bind to
DNA to regulate gene expression. The ability to selectively
control specific genes is emerging as a critical tool in modern
biotechnology. Though there are many kinds of transcription
factors, only ZFPs are amenable to engineering and precise
targeting to a particular gene or genes of interest. By
engineering ZFPs that recognize a specific DNA sequence Sangamo
scientists have created ZFP TFs™ that can control gene
expression and consequently, cell function. For example, Sangamo
has demonstrated that plant oils can be improved using ZFP TFs.
Sangamo has also developed sequence-specific ZFNs(TM) for
precision gene modification and targeted gene insertion. These
technologies have the potential to play a major role in bringing
new discoveries in genomics forward to the marketplace. The use
of Sangamo's ZFP technology to enable the efficient and
reproducible generation of combinations or stacks of multiple
traits and the insertion of new traits could address increasing
demand.
Dow AgroSciences LLC, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, is
a top-tier agricultural company providing innovative crop
protection, pest and vegetation management, seed, and
agricultural biotechnology solutions to serve the world's
growing population. Global sales for Dow AgroSciences, a wholly
owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, are $3.4 billion.
Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. is focused on the research and
development of novel DNA-binding proteins for therapeutic gene
regulation and modification. The most advanced ZFP
Therapeutic(TM) development program is currently in Phase 2
clinical trials for evaluation of safety in patients with
diabetic neuropathy. Phase 1 clinical trials are ongoing to
evaluate a ZFP Therapeutic for peripheral artery disease. Other
therapeutic development programs are focused on cancer and
HIV/AIDS, neuropathic pain, nerve regeneration, ischemic heart
disease and monogenic diseases. Sangamo's core competencies
enable the engineering of a class of DNA-binding proteins known
as zinc finger DNA- binding proteins (ZFPs). By engineering ZFPs
that recognize a specific DNA sequence Sangamo has created ZFP
transcription factors (ZFP TF(TM)) that can control gene
expression and, consequently, cell function. Sangamo is also
developing sequence-specific ZFP Nucleases (ZFN(TM)) for
therapeutic gene modification as a treatment for a variety of
monogenic diseases, such as X- linked SCID and hemophilia, and
for infectious diseases, such as HIV. A portion of Sangamo's
research in plant agriculture is supported by an Advanced
Technology Program (ATP) grant awarded by the National Institute
of Standards and Technology. Sangamo has also established
several Enabling Technology Agreements with companies to apply
its ZFP Technology to enhance the production of protein
pharmaceuticals. For more information about Sangamo, visit the
company's web site at
http://www.sangamo.com.
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