Hemosol to become Strategic Partner of MaRS Discovery District
June 10 2004 - 8:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
Hemosol to become Strategic Partner of MaRS Discovery District
TORONTO, June 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hemosol Corp. (TSX: HML,
NASDAQ: HMSL) today announced that it has negotiated an Agreement
in Principle with The Medical and Related Sciences (MaRS) Discovery
District to form an alliance that will see Hemosol become a
strategic partner to provide a broad range of services including
testing and test development, process development and
manufacturing. In addition Hemosol would be a source of strategic
counsel for the implementation of manufacturing strategies. "We
believe that our proposed relationship with MaRS has important
business implications today and in the future," said Dirk Alkema,
Vice President of Operations, Hemosol. "Our team shares MaRS'
dedication to bringing the science and business communities
together to commercialize research that will benefit Canadians.
Hemosol's world-class Meadowpine manufacturing facility and
extensive manufacturing expertise will prove extremely valuable to
companies looking for high quality, consistent manufacturing under
GMP conditions for the supply of materials required for clinical
studies and eventual commercialization." Under the terms of the
proposed partnership, Hemosol will participate in the MaRS
Commercialization Advisory Committee and will be available to
evaluate the products or processes of MaRS tenants to make
recommendations regarding process development leading to potential
commercialization. Hemosol will also make its bio-processing
services available at preferential rates to tenants. The process of
bringing scientists together with manufacturing expertise, early in
the product development cycle, will help shorten development
timelines and improve chances of success. MaRS has agreed to create
awareness of and to promote Hemosol's services amongst its tenants
through a variety of means including placing information in tenant
orientation material and on the MaRS' web site. It will also
provide an early opportunity for meetings between groups to discuss
and evaluate potential synergies. As Hemosol's involvement with
MaRS tenants begins at an early stage, it will provide future
potential clients for its bio-processing services. The Company has
no concern that any immediate or near future take-up of its
services by MaRS tenants, will create any capacity constraints at
the Meadowpine facility. "We at MaRS welcome Hemosol to this
exciting collaboration between the scientific, business and
academic communities," said John Cook, President and Chief
Operating Officer MaRS Discovery District. "We believe that the
participation of leading firms such as Hemosol is vital to creating
the critical mass needed to make MaRS a hotbed of discovery." About
MaRS The Medical and Related Sciences (MaRS) Discovery District is
a federally incorporated, not-for-profit corporation, founded by
leaders from Canada's academic, business and scientific
communities. It is uniquely positioned to improve connectivity
between the science and business communities and to provide a focal
point for national and international venture capital and management
talent. MaRS will also provide the leadership, facilitation,
programming and infrastructure to assist companies through the
steps of commercialization. The City of Toronto has designated two
square kilometres in the heart of downtown Toronto, home to seven
world-renowned hospitals and more than 30 specialized medical and
related sciences research centres, as the Discovery District. It
includes the University of Toronto, Canada's leading public
research institution and one of the largest medical schools in
North America. About Hemosol Hemosol is a biopharmaceutical company
focused on the development and manufacturing of biologics,
particularly blood-related proteins. Hemosol is leveraging its
expertise in manufacturing blood proteins and its state-of-the-art
Meadowpine manufacturing facility to seek additional strategic
growth opportunities. Hemosol has a broad range of novel
therapeutic products in development, including HEMOLINK(TM)
(hemoglobin raffimer), an oxygen therapeutic designed to rapidly
and safely improve oxygen delivery via the circulatory system.
Hemosol is also developing next generation oxygen therapeutics, a
hemoglobin-based drug delivery platform to treat diseases such as
hepatitis C and liver cancers, and a cell therapy program initially
directed to the treatment of cancer. For more information visit
Hemosol's website at http://www.hemosol.com/. Hemosol's common
shares are listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the trading
symbol "HMSL" and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading
symbol "HML". Certain statements concerning Hemosol's future
prospects are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
and other applicable securities legislation. There can be no
assurances that future results will be achieved, and actual results
could differ materially from forecasts and estimates. Important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
forecasts and estimates include, but are not limited to: Hemosol's
ability to obtain regulatory approvals for its products; Hemosol's
ability to successfully complete clinical trials for its products
and enter into satisfactory arrangements for the supply of
materials used in its manufacturing operations and the sale of
resulting products to customers; technical, manufacturing or
distribution issues; the competitive environment for Hemosol's
products; the degree of market penetration of Hemosol's products;
Hemosol's ability to obtain sufficient financing to complete
clinical development of its products; and other factors set forth
in filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks and
uncertainties, as well as others, are discussed in greater detail
in the filings of Hemosol with Canadian securities regulatory
authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Hemosol makes no commitment to revise or update any forward-looking
statements in order to reflect events or circumstances after the
date any such statement is made. DATASOURCE: Hemosol Corp. CONTACT:
Jason Hogan, Investor & Media Relations, (416) 361 1331, 800
789 3419, (416) 815 0080 fax, , http://www.hemosol.com/; To request
a free copy of this organization's annual report, please go to
http://www.newswire.ca/ and click on reports@cnw.
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