Award-winning UCOE™ technology chosen by Astellas for its research programs
BILLERICA, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Millipore Corporation (NYSE:MIL) today announced it has entered into a worldwide, non-exclusive license agreement with Astellas Pharma, Inc. (“Astellas”) to use Millipore's UCOE™ (Ubiquitous Chromatin Opening Element) technology in its research programs. The license will enable Astellas to more efficiently produce its drug targets, such as antibodies in mammalian cells, by generating higher protein yields. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We value Astellas’ commitment to the UCOE technology," said Andrew Bulpin, Vice President of Millipore's Upstream Bioprocessing Business Unit. "This license is another example of how we can help pharmaceutical and biotech companies efficiently develop biologic drugs."
The process of manufacturing biologic drugs such as monoclonal antibodies and other recombinant proteins often begins with growing mammalian cells in a bioreactor. These cells act as "factories" and produce the proteins that form the basis of biologic drugs. Millipore's UCOE technology helps biopharmaceutical companies better identify which cells will be the most effective in producing proteins during large-scale manufacturing. By more efficiently isolating these stable and highly productive cell lines, biopharmaceutical manufacturers can improve the yield and consistency of their manufacturing processes. The cost of manufacturing recombinant protein-based drugs makes quick identification of cell lines a critical factor in improving productivity.
Millipore's UCOE technology, which was originally licensed from the laboratory of Dr. Michael Antoniou at King's College, London, can be used for the fast and simple generation of proteins at small scale for drug discovery and research, as well as for identifying stable and highly productive cell lines suitable for larger scale manufacturing. Other applications of the UCOE technology include gene therapy, transgenics, and the generation of cell lines for drug screening. UCOE technology has been licensed by over 50 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in North America, Europe and Japan, including Bayer, Medarex, Novartis and Maxygen.
For further details on the UCOE technology or on its licensing, please contact Millipore at: 1-800-MILLIPORE (1-800-645-5476) or visit www.millipore.com/ucoe. On December 5th 2007, Millipore was awarded the 2007 Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation of the Year Award in the U.S. Drug Discovery Technologies market for the UCOE(TM) technology. Millipore is also a leading provider of cell culture supplements that are used in the production of numerous FDA-approved biologic drugs that are marketed worldwide.
About Millipore
Millipore (NYSE:MIL) is a Life Science leader providing cutting-edge technologies, tools, and services for bioscience research and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. As a strategic partner, we collaborate with customers to confront the world's challenging human health issues. From research to development to production, our scientific expertise and innovative solutions help customers tackle their most complex problems and achieve their goals. Millipore Corporation is an S&P 500 company with more than 6,000 employees in 47 countries worldwide. For further information, visit www.millipore.com.
About Astellas
Astellas Pharma Inc., located in Tokyo, Japan, is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. Astellas has approximately 13,700 employees worldwide. The organization is committed to becoming a global category leader by rapidly establishing a business model in Urology, Immunology and Inflammatory, Diabetes, CNS/Pain, Infectious diseases (virus) and Cancer. For more information on Astellas Pharma Inc., please visit www.astellas.com.
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Millipore Forward Looking Statement
The matters discussed herein, as well as in future oral and written statements by management of Millipore Corporation that are forward-looking statements, are based on current management expectations that involve substantial risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements.
Potential risks and uncertainties that could affect Millipore's future operating results with respect to the foregoing include, without limitation, failure to meet customers' manufacturing design phase for a particular drug; delay, suspension or termination of a customer's volume production; lack of availability of raw materials or component products on a timely basis; regulatory delay in the approval of new therapeutics; limitations on cash flow for operations and investment due to increased debt service obligation; competitive factors such as alternative cell culture supplements; the inability to utilize technology in current or planned products due to overriding rights by third parties; conditions in the economy in general and in the bioscience and bioprocess markets in particular; foreign exchange fluctuations; reduced private and government research funding; and exposure to product liability claims. Please refer to our filings with the SEC, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, for more information on these and other risks that could cause actual results to differ.
UCOE(TM) is a trademark of Millipore Corporation
