News room

June 2004:
genOway announces a general agreement with King's College London

May 2004:
genOway announces cooperation in rat model development with ALTANA Pharma

May 2004:
genOway receives 1 M € funding for genetically-modified rats

March 2004:
Rat models for improving predictability in biopharmaceutical drug research
Label EUREKA 3085 - RATMOD

Lyon, France, November 23rd, 2004
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE: CRL), a leading provider of pre-clinical research products and services to biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and genOway, the European leader in tailor-made, genetically modified research models, today announce they have established a European collaboration aimed at speeding up the availability of genetically-modified research models to their pharmaceutical, biotech and academic research customers.
This strategic agreement leverages genOway's and Charles River's expertise and technologies allowing both companies to develop innovative, genetically modified models for customers within a 45% shorter development time for the same budget as a classical model. This collaboration will bring more comprehensive outsourcing services to accelerate the drug discovery process.

In this three-year strategic collaboration, Charles River will market and promote genOway's proprietary solutions to clients of its European Transgenic Services business.

	genOway holds intellectual property rights to multiple processes for development research models and offers a full range of solutions for both gene expression (inducible and conditional transgenic animals, Knock-in models and proprietary technologies Safe DNA TransgenisisTM, Quick Knock-inTM, etc.) and gene inactivation (Conditional Knock-out, gene Knock-down and proprietary solutions Safe Knock-outTM, Quick RNAiTM, etc.) for mouse and rat models. genOway is regarded throughout Europe as a premier company providing custom services to clients.
	Charles River is the market leader in model development and breeding services dedicated to provide continuous supply of genetically specific and virally clean research models to clients around the world.

"genOway strengthens and broadens our European platform of services to offering a services portfolio that includes the genomic manipulation of research models." said BiII Barbo, Executive Director, Charles River Transgenic Services. "With this collaboration, we can promote genOway's solutions and further assist our clients in the most efficient pursuit of their research goals."

"We are excited to work collaboratively with Charles River in promoting our wide array of proprietary solutions and services." said Alexandre Fraichard, PhD, CEO of genOway. "Charles River, the acknowledged market leader in this segment, shares our commitment to unsurpassed customer service, and to offering clients what they truly want and need."

Lyon, France, September 2004
genOway has entered into a research agreement with Pfizer, to provide Pfizer researchers in the U.S. with a genetically modified rat model based on genOway's nuclear transfer technology.

This is genOway's second partnership agreement with the biopharmaceutical sector to generate conditional knock-out and knock-in rat models, since the 2003 publication in Science (Zhou et al, Generation of fertile cloned rats by regulating oocyte activation. Science. 2003 Nov 14;302(5648):1179.) of genOway's cloned rat, the first of its kind in the world. genOway signed an agreement with ALTANA Pharma - Germany, in May 2004 to advance rat models to the same standard as genetically modified mouse models for biomedical research.

Given the similarity between rat and human physiology, the rat is a crucial animal model for the study of many human diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, obesity and diabetes. Nuclear transfer is the only technology able to generate complex genetically modified rat models such as conditional Knock-out and humanization, whereas others like chemical mutagenesis can only introduce mutations in the genome.

For the first time rat models developed from this technology will combine the power of genetics and the power of rat physiology. This combination will provide the world's leading pharmaceutical company with better tools for its research.

"Pfizer is the largest research-based pharmaceutical company in the world. After having tested our mouse technology platform, we are very proud that they will work with us on rat" said Alexandre Fraichard, genOway's CEO.

genOway raises €4 Million in private equity
Fundraising consolidates its European position in the development of tailor-made transgenic mice and rats and will accelerate the launch of its proprietary mice and rat models

Lyon, France, September 2004
genOway announces the completion of a €4 million fundraising. This new round gives the opportunity to genOway to broaden its investors' profiles: CDC Entreprises Innovation who is leading the round and Siparex Ventures, both of them being experienced in financing emerging companies in the biotech field.

CDC Entreprises Innovation, based in Paris, is the venture capital company of CDC Entreprises, member of the Caisse des Dépôts Group which is a state-owned financial institution that performs public interest missions on behalf of France central, regional and local government levels. CDC Entreprises Innovation manages today more than 300 million euro assets under management. investments are concentrated predominantly in the sectors of information technology, communication, industry of semi-conductors and life science.

Siparex Ventures is the venture capital subsidiary of Sigefi Private Equity (Siparex Group), one of the leading independent private equity investors in France, with € 806 million assets under management. Siparex Ventures manages 240 million euros in assets, including 41 million euros in the US, where the group has been operating for 17 years. Investments are concentrated predominantly in the sectors of information technology, security and - life sciences. The team, based in Paris, Lyon and San Mateo (California) is made up of eleven professionals.

The money raised will support the growth of the company in the development of tailor-made transgenic mice and rats and in the launching of proprietary mice and rat models.
In the last five years, genOway has expanded its business to 17 countries and is now working with major leading pharmaceutical companies such as Aventis Pharma, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Pfizer, sanofi-synthelabo, as well as renowned non-profit academic research institutes including the European Institute of Oncology (ITA), King's College London (UK), Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (SWE), Pasteur Institute (FRA), University College London (UK), Weizmann Institute (ISR), etc.

Simultaneously, the company is currently developing a unique proprietary technology that aims to develop genetically modified rat models (Knock-out rats) within two years. genOway has already signed research agreements with ALTANA Pharma (GER) to finance this development and validate the technology. Additional deals are under negotiation.

"This Fundraising consolidates the company's leading European position in the development of tailor-made transgenic mice and rats. These prestigious investors will add experience and skills to our existing shareholders, Dassault Dé,veloppement and Qualis. All are committed to the success of the company and this new round seriously reinforces our position on the market" said Alexandre Fraichard, CEO of genOway.

Lyon, France, September 2004
genOway reports today a new collaboration with leading academic research Institute in Netherlands, the Hubrecht Laboratory - also known as the Netherlands Institute for Developmental Biology (NIOB).

This agreement covers the development of genetically modified mouse models using the proprietary technology platform of genOway in order to provide researchers of the Hubrecht Laboratory with the adequate animal models of high predictability within the shortest development time.

The Hubrecht Laboratory is part of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW) and researches in the field of developmental biology of animals. This world-class institute is considered as one of the most famous research Institute in its field as attested by its publication record.
Furthermore this Institute employs "state-of the-art" technologies in transgenesis. This agreement between genOway and the Hubrecht Laboratory will lead a very fruitful technical collaboration.

"genOway has already supplied us with several difficult-to-make knockout cell lines. We are impressed by the speed and professionalism in which genOway provides these services, and are eager to build on this very this successful collaboration" said Prof. Hans Clevers, director of the Hubrecht Laboratory.

"genOway is very proud to start this new collaboration with Professor Hans Clevers's Institute. The trust and confidence in genOway's capabilities from such leading researcher is a further confirmation of our expertise in the field of transgenesis" said Alexandre Fraichard, genOway's CEO.

About the Hubrecht Laboratory
The Hubrecht Laboratory - also known as the Netherlands Institute for Developmental Biology (NIOB) - is a research institute of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW) and researches in the field of developmental biology of animals.
Using some of these model systems namely the mouse, clawed toad, zebrafish and also C. elegans, researchers at the Hubrecht Laboratory employ traditional as well as modern methods, including cellular, genetic and molecular techniques. As well as "fundamental" research there is also work on "applied" problems such as cancer and stem cell therapy in the medical field and endocrine disrupters in the environmental field.

Lyon, France, June 2004
genOway reports a general agreement with the leading research institution King's College London (KCL). This non-exclusive agreement covers the development of several specific mouse models using the proprietary technology platform of genOway.
Timelines, financial conditions and therapeutic areas of interest are not disclosed.

genOway's expertise combines technologies classically used in transgenesis (Knock-out, Knock-in, conditional and inducible systems) with cutting-edge proprietary technologies for enhancing the efficiency and safety of animal model development.

This agreement will provide researchers from KCL with a personalised service aimed at developing animal models to meet their specific needs and goals.

In addition, KCL investigators will benefit from extensive consultancy services focused on developing customised and efficient model to specifications. genOway's expertise and KCL investigators' know-how on the genes of interest will make it possible to anticipate and to reduce the technical risks of KCL's projects.

"genOway is proud to collaborate with this prestigious institution and we believe that this agreement will make our collaboration very effective. This global agreement with KCL researchers is a confirmation of mutual trust." said Dr. Fraichard, CEO of genOway.

Lyon, France, May 2004
The cooperation establishes that genOway will provide ALTANA Pharma's drug discovery and development programs with genetically modified rat model generated using genOway's innovative nuclear transfer technology.
Based on genOway's major scientific breakthrough - world's first cloned rat, Zhou et al, Science 2003 - an ambitious partnership has been launched for generating conditional Knock-out and Knock-in rats models. This is the first of a series of partnership agreements signed in the biopharmaceutical sector, to bring rat models up to the same level as mouse models for biomedical research.

Given the similarity between rat and human physiology, the rat is a crucial animal model for the study of many human diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, obesity and diabetes. Nuclear transfer is the only technology able to generate complex genetically modified rat models (conditional Knock-out, Knock-in …) whereas others like chemical mutagenesis can only introduce mutations in the genome.

For the first time rat models developed from this technology will combine the power of genetics and the power of rat physiology. This combination will provide ALTANA Pharma with better tools for its research.

"genOway's technology is excellent and their mouse business is impressive. We are looking forward to working together in this cooperation" said Dr.Ulrich Thibaut, Vice-President Discovery Research at ALTANA Pharma.

"ALTANA pharma is a very dynamic and successful company and we are happy that in addition to our collaboration on mouse, they also chose our rat platform. This should help them leverage even further their R&D pipeline" said Alexandre Fraichard, genOway's CEO.


About ALTANA Pharma

ALTANA Pharma is a group of companies in the health sector showing dynamic growth on a platform of innovative products and increasing internationalization. The main focus of its activities is on the research, development, production and sale of prescription medicines.
ALTANA Pharma is an independent part of ALTANA AG, a public company quoted on the stock exchanges of Frankfurt and New York.
The company employs about 7,700 people in over 30 companies and affiliates around the world, with research centers in Germany and the USA. Its products are sold in over 90 countries.
In 2003, ALTANA Pharma achieved sales of about €2 billion, up 6% from 2002. Investment in Research and Development - approximately 20% of sales revenues - is increased continually in order to strengthen and expand ALTANA Pharma's market position. Research and Development is focused primarily on the Company's core competencies, respiratory and gastroenterological diseases. The newest area of research is oncology.

Lyon, France, May 2004
genOway, European leader in the development of models for research, has been granted € 1 M of funding for its EUREKA-labeled program for developing genetically-modified rats.
The ANVAR (French Agency for Innovation), the Rhone-Alpes region and the Ministry of Research are to provide this funding, aimed at industrializing proprietary rat cloning technology. Within two years, the company willan annual production capacity of over 50 genetically modified rat strains.
The publication in Science of Ralph, the first cloned rat (Zhou et al., Science, 2003) demonstrated the robustness of genOway's proprietary technology. This technological platform for rat cloning, based notably on nuclear transfer, has helped genOway to start the development of genetically-modified rat models.

Physiologically closer to humans than the majority of other laboratory species, the rat is a key model for the study of many human pathologies in important therapeutic domains, such as metabolic diseases (diabetes, obesity, etc.), cardiovascular diseases (atherosclerosis, hypertension, etc.) and neurological diseases (Alzheimer's disease, neurodegenerative diseases, etc.). The scientific results with greater reliability and predictability obtained using these models will be instrumental in the development of new and innovative drugs for treating these diseases.
Access to genetically-modified rats is of critical importance for the biopharmaceutical industry.

Through this funding, the public authorities, led by the ANVAR, are renewing their confidence in genOway, as they had done in 2000 when the ANVAR supported the development of Rapid KO™ proprietary technology, which increases the reliability in the development of complex genetically-modified models and reduces development time by 35%. The program was a technological success, and market launch of this technology is forecast for the end of the first half-year of 2004.

"The contribution of these public funds will allow us to strengthen and speed up our technological development. Since genOway's creation, the company's technological portfolio and the number of patents we hold have continually expanded.
Today, genOway is able to produce mouse and rat models for biomedical research by targeted gene modification. We therefore have the ability to develop the best-suited genetically-engineered model for each individual pathology. This enables our customers to carry out research with greater predictability and therefore greater efficiency" Alexandre Fraichard, CEO of genOway, declared.

"genOway is a leading edge company with a very impressive customer portfolio. The financial support from the ANVAR, the Rhone-Alpes region and the Ministry of Research will enable them to place their rat cloning technology on the world market" said directors of ANVAR.


About the ANVAR:
www.anvar.fr

The main mission of the ANVAR (French Agency for Innovation) is to support the innovating efforts of entrepreneurs, small and medium enterprise and industry, and research laboratories, particularly by sharing the financial risk involved in technology transfer and the development of new products, methods or services with technological components.

The ANVAR promotes the results of scientific research, supports industrial development and growth, and takes part in mobilizing the equity financing necessary for companies to be able to expand, particularly through the contribution of its know-how.

The ANVAR's annual budget (approx. €300 M) mostly comprises state grants and the refunding of previously-contracted financial aid. The Agency also manages funding delegated by third parties, and thereby benefits from additional appropriation for operations from ministries, local government and the European Union.

Lyon, France, March 2004
The pharmaceutical industry is concentrating its research effort on the development speed of new drugs. In order to create innovative drugs and treat complex pathologies, the industry needs effective biological models (cell and animal) offering high predictability for human responses to candidate drugs.
In neuroscience, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, or toxicology, the rat is an animal that has a very similar physiology to that of humans. This makes it a first-choice model for the pharmaceutical industry. So far, only the mouse genome allows targeted gene modification.

The consortium led by genOway under the EUREKA program will enable the creation of a complete technological platform, from the development of genetically modified rats through to phenotyping.
This platform will include three phases :

	Genome engineering.
	Nuclear transferhe technology capable of cloning rats (Zhou et al., 2003, Science). The aim of the EUREKA program is to adapt this technology to use at an industrial level.
	Phenotyping.

genOway is a biotech company created in 1999 that provides academic research centers and the pharmaceutical industry with genetically-modified models used in the target validation , drug screening,, pharmacology, physiology and toxicology studies. The company has customers in 15 countries across Europe and North-America, and has developed a flexible and comprehensive offer, from gene cloning through to the phenotyping of models. genOway also develops proprietary models that "mimic" human responses.

"The EUREKA labeling will catalyze the Europe-wide collaboration that we have developed with this consortium in a field where we already have a considerable head-start over our competitors. We anticipate a leverage effect on our development by the end of a two-year time-frame" says Alexandre FRAICHARD, CEO of genOway.