Avalon and ChemDiv to Collaborate in Oncology Drug Discovery and Development
July 26 2006 - 7:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
GERMANTOWN, Md., July 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avalon
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq and NYSEArca: AVRX), a
biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development
of small molecule therapeutics, and ChemDiv, Inc., a
privately-held, chemistry-driven research & development
company, today announced that they have entered into a
collaboration for the discovery and development of small molecule
oncology therapeutics. Avalon will use its proprietary AvalonRx(R)
platform to discover new active compounds in screens against
selected targets and target pathways. ChemDiv will provide Avalon
access to its Discovery outSource(TM) services platform, including
the world's largest commercially available chemical library, as
well as medicinal and synthetic chemistry for the discovery and
development of new active compounds. Avalon and ChemDiv will share
in the costs of development and the value of any lead candidate
resulting from their joint research efforts. Additional terms of
the agreement provide Avalon with the right to select 200,000
compounds from the ChemDiv library for use in all of Avalon's
discovery programs. "This is a classic win-win situation for both
companies," stated Kenneth C. Carter, Ph.D., President and CEO of
Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. "We are pleased to partner with
ChemDiv, where we are both able to leverage expertise in the
ongoing effort to discover new cancer therapeutics through the
combination of our AvalonRx(R) drug discovery platform and
ChemDiv's compound library, chemistry resources and expertise." "We
are excited about this partnership with Avalon," said Nikolay
Savchuk, President and CEO of ChemDiv, Inc. "This collaboration is
based on the synergy of ChemDiv's discovery assets and research
resources along with Avalon's unique drug discovery engine. We
believe that this combination of both Avalon's and ChemDiv's
technologies will result in a reduction of the time and effort
required to identify and develop new breakthrough therapeutics."
About Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Avalon Pharmaceuticals is a
biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development
of small molecule therapeutics through the use of a comprehensive,
innovative and proprietary suite of technologies based upon
large-scale gene expression analysis which it calls AvalonRx(R).
This platform facilitates drug discovery by expanding the range of
therapeutic targets for drug intervention, including targets and
target pathways frequently considered intractable using
conventional HTS approaches, allows more informed decisions about
which compounds to advance towards clinical trials, and facilitates
drug development through identification of biomarkers of efficacy
that can stratify patients or provide early indicators of response.
Avalon's focus is oncology but has discovery programs in other
therapeutic areas with partners. Avalon Pharmaceuticals was
established in 1999 and is headquartered in Germantown, Maryland.
About ChemDiv, Inc. ChemDiv is a global chemistry-driven contract
research organization focused on the delivery of scientific
innovation, products and services that meet the drug discovery
needs of its partners. ChemDiv provides partners with access to
Discovery outSource(TM), a full service drug discovery capability
encompassing: medicinal chemistry, pre-clinical development,
synthetic chemistry, diverse and focused screening libraries, and
logistics services. This press release may contain "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the United States Private
Securities Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on
management's current expectations and are subject to risks,
uncertainty and changes in circumstances, which may cause actual
results, performance or achievements to differ materially from
anticipated results, performance or achievements. All statements
contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature are
forward looking. Economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory
factors affecting Avalon's business are examples of factors, among
others, that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those described in the forward-looking statements. All
forward-looking statements are also expressly qualified in their
entirety by the cautionary statements included in Avalon's SEC
filings, including its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and its
annual report on Form 10-K. Avalon is under no obligation to (and
expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter its
forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. Contacts: Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
ChemDiv, Inc. Gary Lessing Nikolay Savchuk Executive Vice President
& CFO President and CEO Tel: (301) 556-9900 11558 Sorrento
Valley Road Fax: (301) 556-9910 San Diego, Ca, 92121 Email: Tel:
(858) 794-4860 Fax: (858) 794-4931 Additional contacts for Avalon:
Noonan Russo Wendy Lau (Media) Bill Farley, Sr Director BD Tel:
(212) 845-4272 Tel: (516) 318-2150 Matthew Haines (Investors) Tel:
(212) 845-4235 DATASOURCE: Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; ChemDiv,
Inc. CONTACT: Gary Lessing, Executive Vice President & CFO,
Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-301-556-9900, Fax:
+1-301-556-9910, ; Additional contacts for Avalon - Wendy Lau
(Media), +1-212- 845-4272, or Matthew Haines (Investors),
+1-212-845-4235, both of Noonan Russo; Nikolay Savchuk, President
and CEO, +1-858-794-4860, Fax: +1-858-794- 4931, , or Bill Farley,
Sr Director BD, +1-516-318-2150, , both of ChemDiv, Inc.
Copyright