Abbott And Idun To Develop Apoptosis Cancer Drugs

Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, IL) and Idun Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (La Jolla, CA) have announced a worldwide research and development agreement to focus on the discovery and development of apoptosis drugs for treating cancer. The proposed products will regulate the activity of selected proteins involved in the cell pathway leading to programmed cell death, or apoptosis. This strategic initiative combines proprietary technologies from both Abbott and Idun in a major new discovery effort to identify small molecule drugs that kill tumor cells by specifically targeting the apoptotic pathway. Under terms of the agreement, Abbott has committed $30 million, which includes an equity investment and research funding. Idun will receive milestone payments and royalties on products resulting from the research program.

Idun is responsible for developing primary molecular assays against targets in the core of the apoptosis pathway. These assays will be used by Abbott for high-throughput screening of compound libraries and compound analysis using Abbott's proprietary SAR by NMR technology. Secondary characterization of compound activity will be carried out at Idun using Idun's battery of biological apoptosis assays.

SAR by NMR was developed at Abbott and uses nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to screen a defined library of diverse small molecules for their ability to bind to the individual pockets of a protein drug target. This technique has been shown to significantly speed the difficult, time-consuming process for identifying molecules that bind to important protein drug targets.

Abbott holds exclusive worldwide rights for compounds resulting from the collaboration that move forward into human clinical testing. Abbott is also responsible for preclinical and clinical development of any drug leads emerging from the joint program and for government approval, manufacturing, marketing and sales.

Drug companies can exploit apoptosis in two ways: by enhancing (for cancer) or inhibiting it (for degenerative diseases). Privately held Idun is doing both. In a separate agreement with Novartis, Ltd., Idun is developing drugs that inhibit apoptosis in the brain associated with CNS disease. Additional discovery programs at Idun are aimed at the development of novel drugs to protect or minimize cell damage resulting from obstructed blood flow (ischemia) or other insults to key organs such as the heart and liver.

For more information: Steven Mento, CEO, Idun Pharmaceuticals, 11085 North Torrey Pines Road, Suite 300, La Jolla, CA 92037. Tel: 619-623-1330. Fax: 619-623-2765.