News room

December 2001:
genOway succeeds with first cloned rat embryo

September 2001:
Cellectis and genOway sign a licensing agreement for the use of homologous recombination

February 2001:
SYN X and genOway sign proteomics and genomic strategic alliance

Lyon, 10th December 2001
French functional genomics company gen0way S.A. has announced the first successful post implantation inn vivo development of a cloned rat embryo. The company has conducted a joint nuclear transfer program to produce genetically manipulated rats, primarily focusing on Knock-out ( KO ) and Knock-in ( Kin ) rats.

Dr Alexandre FRAICHARD, Chief Executive Officer of genOway, said, "Up to now, no-one has succeeded in obtaining in vivo embryonic development using a cloned rat embryo. We achieved the key milestone of a living cloned rat embryo with no apparent abnormalities. The embryo was found in post mortem examination of the foster mother after 12.5 (twelve point five) days of development. In the past years, all previous attempts to clone rats have failed because the donor nucleus and the recipient ovocyte have not been “in phase”. These results demonstrate that we have in developing a technology that allows reprogramming of the rat nucleus."

"Much work still remains to be done. But these results pave the way for further KO and Kin rats over the next two years. gen0way will be launching an ambitious program with our pharmaceutical an biotech partners to provide researchers with rat models which are of higher predictability and relevance for the treatment of a number of human diseases. Numerous therapeutic areas such as Cardiology and Neuroscience will benefit from this important innovation. Furthermore, the rat is the most commonly used model in toxicology studies. In the two coming years, we believe the development of a bank of several hundred KO rats is a realistic target" added Dr Fraichard.

This major breakthrough was announced by Dr Fraichard at the Physiological Genomics & Rat Models conference in Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, held from 6 to 9th December 2001. The work was undertaken in collaboration with a team under Dr Jean-Paul Renard at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique in Paris. The team has made a significant contribution to the nuclear transfer field over the past years in several species including cow, rabbit and mouse.

Paris-Lyon, September 25th, 2001
Cellectis SA, an offshoot of the Pasteur Institute specialised in genome engineering, has signed a non-exclusive world licensing agreement with genOway S.A., a biotechnology company specialised in the stem cell field.

The licence concerns Patent EP419621 covering the use of homologous recombination. The scope of this licence covers the development of animal and cell models.

Homologous recombination is the technological basis of all the methods of rational genome engineering, the speciality of Cellectis S.A. The process is underpinned by natural cell mechanisms of DNA maintenance and repair, present in all living organisms. The licensed technology permits the deletion or replacement of genes in living organisms. This already well-tried technology has shown its power for more than a decade and today forms a key technology for the study of genes.

Stem cells are the area in which genOway SA excels. Building on its background as supplier of technology to the biopharmaceutical industry, genOway SA develops a range of proprietary products for immunology, toxicology and neuroscience. In the area of gene validation and the screening of chemical entities, these products lend partner companies the means to increase the throughput of their research programmes and allow an essential quantum leap in the predictability of their drug development programmes. This licence totally frees genOway's partners and customers from all royalty claims.

Agreement May Trim Years, Millions of Dollars from Drug Discovery and Development Process

Toronto, February 21, 2001
SYN•X Pharma Inc. (CDNX: "SYY") and genOway S.A. have formed a collaboration to combine their respective expertise in proteomics and genomics. SYN•X, based in Toronto, Canada, has developed a proprietary Proteomics Discovery Platform&; genOway, based in Lyon, France, has a proprietary genomics platform to develop transgenic animals for identification of drug candidates. Together the companies will develop cardiovascular and central nervous system (CNS) drug targets using SYN•X’s extensive library of novel, proprietary proteins, which genOway will test for therapeutic value using its transgenic rodents created for cardiovascular and CNS research. The agreement will greatly accelerate the elucidation of proteins as potential therapeutics, thereby shortening the discovery and development process by several years.

This combined expertise in the drug discovery and development process will provide a more comprehensive research and development platform, new proprietary disease models and a broader range of discovery services than either could offer alone. Under the terms of the agreement SYN•X and genOway will share revenues from products, services and intellectual property developed jointly.

SYN•X Pharma has developed an extensive library of novel, proprietary proteins for CNS, cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Using information from the novel proteins discovered by SYN•X’s Proteomics Discovery Platform™ for a particular disease, genOway will create a transgenic animal model or a "Knock-Out/Knock-In" animal model for pre-clinical research of drug targets. Both types of animal models will allow the testing of SYN•X’s proteins for therapeutic activity against disease. Together both companies will generate a pre-clinical model that mimics the disease in man and is capable of testing new therapeutic intervention.

"This collaboration is a marriage of strengths," said Sean McNicholas, President and Chief Executive Officer of SYN•X Pharma. "SYN•X and genOway exercise leadership in proteomics and genomics to quickly develop drug targets. We both bring expertise that is extremely valuable by itself, but together we can quickly and efficiently take our knowledge and meet the needs of pharmaceutical clients looking for specific therapeutics. Together we provide a totally integrated approach and bring pharmaceutical companies a drug that has been pre-clinically proven and is ready for human trials."

"Science is complex and the need for real expertise is growing rapidly," said Alexandre Fraichard, President and CEO of genOway S.A. "The alliance of two experts such as SYN X Pharma and genOway reflects a serious trend in the market to better match customer needs. Furthermore, the fact that this collaboration is done between a North American and a European entity reflects an important bridgehead for both companies."