RICHMOND, Calif., June 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. 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(TM) 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(TM) 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.
About Dow AgroSciences LLC
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. Visit http://www.dowagro.com for more information.
About Sangamo BioSciences, Inc.
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.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on Dow AgroSciences LLC and Sangamo BioScience, Inc’s current expectations. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, references to the achievement of additional milestones under the agreement between Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. and Dow AgroSciences, LLC and the application of Sangamo’s ZFP TFs and ZFNs in plant agriculture. Actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including, without limitation, technological challenges, Dow AgroSciences ability to develop commercially viable products and technological developments by our competitors. See the company’s SEC filings, and in particular, the risk factors described in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and its most recent 10-Q. Dow AgroSciences and Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. assume no obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.
Sangamo BioSciences, Inc.
CONTACT: Elizabeth Wolffe, Ph.D. of Sangamo BioSciences, Inc.,+1-510-970-6000, ext. 271, ewolffe@sangamo.com; or media, Justin Jackson ofBurns McClellan, Inc., +1-212-213-0006, jjackson@burnsmc.com, for SangamoBioSciences, Inc.
