ROCKVILLE, Md., May 23 /PRNewswire/ -- CoGenesys, Inc. announced today the achievement of milestones under license agreements with PDL BioPharma (PDL) and Vegenics. PDL has advanced into late-stage preclinical testing in support of an IND filing for an antibody-based therapeutic targeting an undisclosed antigen licensed from CoGenesys in January 2006. In addition, CoGenesys has received a milestone payment from Vegenics, based on an agreement in the field of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors, signed with CoGenesys in August 2006. Additional information was not disclosed at this time.
Mark Rampy, Ph.D., Chief Business Officer of CoGenesys, said, “We are very pleased that our licensing program, initiated last year, has resulted in the rapid advancement of two preclinical programs. Our strategy is to license certain assets to organizations which share our goal of developing innovative products for the treatment of serious diseases while at the same time internally advancing select products into early-stage clinical trials. We will continue to seek partners that are interested in accelerating the development of innovative new product opportunities.”
About CoGenesys, Inc.
CoGenesys, Inc. was spun out of Human Genome Sciences, Inc. in June of 2006. The Company’s strategy is to demonstrate safety and proof of concept in clinical trials followed by licensing or partnering of compounds to fund further development. CoGenesys has approximately 80 employees, including 20 PhD-level scientists, and a dedicated 48,000 sq. ft. facility with cGMP manufacturing capacity sufficient for early-stage clinical testing.
Development programs at CoGenesys are capitalizing on the depth of its pipeline and the breadth of its technology to develop lead drug candidates addressing a broad spectrum of diseases and applications, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes / metabolism, enzyme and protein replacement therapy and others. CoGenesys’ state-of-the-art research and manufacturing facility is fully equipped, supporting both preclinical development and cGMP manufacture of biologics. The clinically validated albumin-fusion technology offers a number of advantages, including the ability to improve the bioavailability of existing biologicals, such as interferon alpha (being developed by Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (HGSI) and Novartis), and increased feasibility of developing pharmaceutically relevant peptides, such as GLP-1 (being developed by GlaxoSmithKline under license from HGSI).
In March of 2007, CoGenesys initiated Phase 1-2 clinical trials with Neugranin(TM), a long-acting form of Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (G- CSF) as a treatment to decrease the incidence of infection in patients receiving myelosuppressive anti-cancer drugs. CoGenesys is also developing Cardeva, a long-acting form of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) that is being evaluated in a Phase 1-2 trial for the treatment of patients with heart failure (HF), and Albulin-G, a long-acting form of basal insulin.
For more information about CoGenesys visit http://www.cogenesys.com /
CoGenesys, Inc.
CONTACT: Mark A. Rampy, Ph.D., Chief Business Officer of CoGenesys, Inc.,+1-240-821-9019, or mark_rampy@cogenesys.com
Web site: http://www.cogenesys.com/
