Gaithersburg, Maryland
July 1, 1998Gene Logic Inc. and Hoechst
Schering AgrEvo GmbH announced today that they have entered
into a genomics alliance targeting the discovery of genes for the development of novel
crop protection and crop improvement products. As part of the alliance, Gene Logic will
construct a research database using its proprietary gene expression and bioinformatics
technologies. AgrEvo will also receive access to Gene Logic's proprietary Flow-thu
Chip technology for further analysis of genes identified in the research program.
The agreement between Gene Logic and AgrEvo is for an exclusive three-year term, with the
possibility of an extension for up to five additional years. Research and database access
fees paid by AgrEvo to Gene Logic could reach more than $45 million over the full term of
the agreement. In addition, Gene Logic would receive development milestones and royalties
on sales of new products resulting from the collaboration.
"This alliance represents a major deployment of our comprehensive set of genomics and
bioinformatics technologies in the field of agriculture," said Michael J. Brennan,
M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of Gene Logic. "The collaboration teams us with one of
the world's leading crop production and plant biotechnology companies in an aggressive
research program to develop
a new generation of agricultural products."
According to Jan Leemans, AgrEvo board member responsible for biotechnology and seeds, the
new alliance is a major addition to the company's research efforts in funtional genomics.
"Our alliance with Gene Logic significantly bolsters our competence in gene discovery
and functional
genomics," he said. Leemans added that, "increasingly, innovative crop
protection and crop improvement products will be based on gene leads coming from genomics
technologies such as those developed at Gene Logic. This agreement is a strong signal that
AgrEvo intends to be at the forefront in this exciting area of biotech R & D."
Gene Logic combines powerful genomics technologies and bioinformatics expertise to
accelerate the discovery and development of new drugs and other life science products. The
Company provides its alliance partners with proprietary genomic databases of gene
expression for target discovery, a novel screening technology for identifying lead
compounds, and a comprehensive bioinformatics system for analyzing, managing and
integrating biological information into the life science product discovery process. In
addition to AgrEvo, Gene Logic has established strategic
alliances with Wyeth-Ayerst, SmithKline Beecham, N.V. Organon, a pharmaceutical business
unit of Akzo Nobel, Japan Tobacco Inc. and Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
AgrEvo is a global player in biotechnology, seeds, crop protection and environmental
health and markets globally a wide range of products for enhancing crop production. AgrEvo
operates in more than 70 countries with approximately 8,500 employees.
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