FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CATALYST BIOSCIENCES LICENSES SEMINAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN THE FIELD OF PROTEASE THERAPEUTICSSouth San Francisco, CA and San Diego, CA, July 25, 2005 – Catalyst Biosciences, Inc. and Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies announced today that they have entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement for Catalyst’s use of the Institute’s seminal intellectual property covering protease engineering, selection and optimization. Catalyst is an emerging drug discovery and development company focused on advancing proteases as a new platform for biotherapeutics development in inflammation, cardiovascular disease and other disorders. Torrey Pines Institute is a non-profit research center that conducts major research programs directed towards novel drug discovery technologies.
This license solidifies and expands Catalyst’s rights to develop therapeutics under its broad intellectual property estate in the fields of engineered proteases and protease biochemistry.
The license covers a fundamental protease selection technology to create and select for proteases with entirely new specificities and activities, as well as the ability to optimize the pharmaceutical characteristics of existing protease drug leads. The technology will allow Catalyst to screen billions of protease variants to select and optimize for leads that target with high specificity proteins involved in disease.
“This significant intellectual property from Torrey Pines, when combined with our existing patent estate on the concept, methods and compositions of matter associated with engineered protease drug discovery, fortifies our leading position in the development of these next generation biologic products,” said David O’Reilly, President of Catalyst Biosciences.
“This agreement represents an example of how the Institute’s fundamental technologies are being broadly applied to ground breaking science and drug discovery,” said Richard Houghten, President and Director, Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies. “The protease selection technology should allow Catalyst to rapidly identify and advance protease biologic leads in a manner analogous to high-throughput small molecule lead discovery and optimization.”
About Catalyst Biosciences:
Catalyst Biosciences is developing the next generation of biopharmaceuticals by harnessing the catalytic power of proteases. Proteases are naturally-occurring, protein-degrading enzymes that have been used against their natural targets as approved therapeutics. Catalyst's technology includes methods to rapidly create and characterize tailor-made proteases applicable to a broad spectrum of clinical categories. By engineering proteases to inactivate specific proteins that promote disease progression in areas such as inflammation and cardiovascular disease, Catalyst is developing a new modality in biopharmaceuticals. The company is venture backed by leading investors: Sofinnova Ventures, Burrill & Company, Novartis BioVentures and RCT BioVentures.
For more information, visit www.catbio.com.
About Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies:
Founded in 1988, Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies is an independent non-profit biomedical research institute dedicated to the discovery of causes, treatments and cures for a wide variety of diseases and afflictions including heart disease, cancer, AIDS, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, aging-relating conditions, and pain management. Research is supported through grants from National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Diabetes National Research Group, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Alzheimer's and Aging Research Center, corporate contracts, and both private and corporate donations.
More information is available at www.tpims.org.
