AMED Amedeo Res

RNS No 3974u
CHIROSCIENCE GROUP PLC
29 April 1999 
 
                            CHIROSCIENCE GROUP PLC
 
     Rapigene Gains Approval of Core Genomics Technology Patents in Europe
 
Rapigene  Inc.,  a  subsidiary of Chiroscience Group plc, announces  that  the
company  has received notices from the European Patent Office approving  three
new European patents relating to the company's proprietary methods for genomic
measurement.  The patented compounds and methods provide unprecedented  speed,
accuracy and flexibility in DNA analysis.
 
Specifically,  the  patents  relate to Rapigene's proprietary  cleavable  mass
spectrometry  tags,  or  CMSTs, an integral part of the  company's  MasscodeTM
system for genomic analysis.
 
CMSTs  are  small molecules, or tags, that can be attached by a linker  to  an
oligonucleotide, so that individual DNA can be tracked, mapped  and  analyzed.
The  linker  may  be  easily cleaved, and the tag, with  its  known  molecular
weight, can be detected by ordinary mass spectrometry.
 
Rapigene's  CMST  technology  is the first to  make  it  possible  to  measure
hundreds of tags simultaneously.  This makes the system ideally suited for the
rapid  acquisition  of the large amounts of information required  for  genetic
research.  Historically,  researchers have had to rely  on  fluorescence-based
techniques  to measure DNA.  Currently fluorescence enables only four  to  six
measurements to be made at one time,
 
"We   believe   that   the  Masscode  system  provides  dramatic   performance
improvements  over  existing methods of DNA analysis.  It  is  a  particularly
important  development  in  the detection of single  nucleotide  polymorphisms
(SNPs) - a significant application of the technology as the pharmaceutical and
agricultural  industries  now focus on SNPs as the standard  genetic  marker,"
said   Nick  McCooke,  Rapigene's  President  and  Chief  Operating   Officer.
"Rapigene plans to use this technology to help pharmaceutical companies better
understand  how  genetic factors influence the response of patients  to  their
drugs, increasingly a critical factor in their success."
 
Dr   John  Padfield,  Chief  Executive  Officer  of  Chiroscience  Group  plc,
commented:
 
"We  are very pleased these patents have been approved.  They will protect the
technology  that  both Chiroscience and third parties can employ  for  genomic
discovery  and  was used, for example, in the discovery of a gene  responsible
for  the control of an immune response that we announced last September. These
Rapigene  patents form part of the intellectual capital that we acquired  with
Darwin  Molecular  two  years ago, with the bulk of the  remainder  now  being
within our Chiroscience R&D Inc subsidiary  "


Enquiries:
 
Rapigene Inc, Seattle                              Tel: (425) 398-3140
Nick McCooke, President
Karen Hedine, Vice President, Business Development
email:  hedine@darwin.com
                                                   
Cindy Leggett-Flynn, Communications                Tel: (917) 859 0674
email: leggett@darwin.com
                                                   
Chiroscience Group plc                             Tel: +44 (0)1223 420430
Dr John Padfield, Chief Executive
David Dible, Head of Media and Investor Relations
http://www.chiroscience.com
                                                   
Financial Dynamics                                 Tel: +44 (0)171 831 3113
Giles Sanderson/Victoria Springett
 
 
NOTES FOR EDITORS
 
Rapigene Inc.
Rapigene is a wholly owned, but operationally distinct, subsidiary of
Chiroscience Group plc.  The company has developed the MasscodeTM system for
high throughput genomics measurement. The Masscode system is a mass
spectrometry based technology for the rapid, automated and cost-effective
discovery and detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).  Rapigene
plans to use this technology to help pharmaceutical companies better
understand how genetic factors influence the response of patients to their
drugs, increasingly a critical factor in their success.
 
Chiroscience Group plc is an emerging pharmaceutical company with two distinct
parts; Chiroscience R&D, the company's core pharmaceutical products business,
and the specialist service businesses, ChiroTech and Rapigene.
 
Chiroscience R&D uses its 'gene-to-drug' skills base to discover and develop
innovative small-molecule pharmaceuticals for the treatment of inflammation,
pain, cancer, osteoporosis and auto-immune disease.  Chirocaine, its long-
acting local anaesthetic is close to market.
 
ChiroTech is a profitable business that is a world leader in the provision of
specialist chiral chemistry services and products.  Its customer base of major
pharmaceutical companies is growing rapidly.  Strategic alliances with a
number of global partners have broadened the range of products and services
that ChiroTech can offer.
 
Chiroscience Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is based  in
Cambridge and Stevenage, UK, and Seattle, Washington, USA.

END

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