van Rooijen & Partners is proud to have mediated a business deal between Merz Pharmaceuticals and NascaCell IP. <<
Press release.
Merz Pharmaceuticals and NascaCell announce collaboration agreement to use aptamers in the validation of several targets
FRANKFURT and MUNICH, Germany, August 30, 2004
Merz Pharmaceuticals and NascaCell announced today that they have entered into a collaboration agreement. The focus is on the use of aptamers for the enhanced validation of different targets for products in research and development at Merz Pharmaceuticals.
“We are delighted to enter into this collaboration which gives us access to the promising tool of aptamers”, commented Dr. Guenter Quack, Director and Head Preclinical R&D of Merz Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Andreas Jenne, CEO of NascaCell IP stressed the importance of the collaboration for further international establishment of the use of aptamers in the drug discovery and target validation process.
Aptamers are synthetic oligonucleotides that are able to bind to target proteins with high affinity and specificity. Because of the small molecule-like binding characteristics of aptamers, they typically show strong inhibition of protein function. NascaCell IP offers aptamers as tools for accelerated target validation and drug discovery.
About Merz Pharmaceuticals (www.merz.com):
Merz Pharmaceuticals, as a member of Merz Pharma, is an innovative and international healthcare company, specializing in the research, development and marketing of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases. Merz, headquartered in Frankfurt - Germany, is a leader in the field of Alzheimer research and developed the first drug for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's. Another area of competence is dermatology. In this field Merz products focus on the treatment of scars, acne, hair loss and fungal diseases.
About NascaCell (www.nascacell.de):
NascaCell IP, located in Munich, Germany, is a biotech company supporting pharma and biotech companies in their endeavor to enhance the development of small molecule drugs against disease-causing protein targets. Customer service projects and strategic partnerships for target validation, functional proteomics and drug discovery are the key components of our business.
NascaCell IP is a global leader in the automated production and marketing of custom aptamers. Aptamers are synthetic drug-like molecules that can specifically knock-down protein functions in living cells and organisms. Their rapid production and convenient handling mean aptamers can be used in numerous drug discovery applications, such as animal studies or high throughput drug screening.
Dr. Lucio A.A. van Rooijen at van Rooijen & Partners (www.vr-p.com) mediated the business deal.
For further information, please contact:
Merz Pharma GmbH & Co. KGAa
Corporate Communications
Phone: +49-69-1503-411
Fax: +49-69-1503-400
E-mail: presse@merz.de
NascaCell IP GmbH
Dr. Andreas Jenne, CEO
Phone: +49-89-547272-0
Fax: +49-89-547272-22
E-Mail: a.jenne@nascacell.de