| Contacts: | |
| Jonathan Cohen President 20/20 GeneSystems, Inc. Tel: 240-453-6339 jcohen@2020gene.com |
Toshio Miyagawa Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd. Tel. +81-6-6203-1594 |
Kanagawa, JAPAN and Rockville, MD – February 4, 2002 – Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd., a subsidiary of Japan’s largest pharmaceutical company, has entered an exclusive marketing and distribution agreement with 20/20 GeneSystems, Inc. (www.2020gene.com) to market 20/20’s product for multiplex analysis of proteins separated on electrophoresis gels in the Far East. The multiplex nature of the product substantially reduces the inconsistencies and manual labor associated with running multiple separate gels using conventional techniques. The agreement is being announced during a trade mission of Maryland biotech companies to Kanagawa, Japan organized by the government of Japan and the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED). 20/20 was one of five companies selected for the 14-member delegation designed to grow Maryland’s expanding biotech industry and create investment, licensing, and trade opportunities between Japanese and Maryland companies.
The product being distributed by Wako Pure Chemical Industries is the first in a family of products being introduced by 20/20 based on a highly innovative proprietary platform technology called Protein Function Identification Layered Membranes (P-FILM). Whereas conventional film captures light to create a photographic image, P-FILM captures the molecules of life – DNA, RNA, and protein – to create a biological image of the sample to which it is applied. The company therefore refers to this technology as Film for Life™. The scientific imaging division of Eastman Kodak has the exclusive rights to market the product outside of the Far East and five of the world’s ten major pharmaceutical companies have purchased 20/20’s first P-FILM product since it was launched in December 2001.
“When I was first introduced to 20/20’s technology I thought it was unbelievable,” said Kiyoshi Misu, a Senior Manager for International Business at Wako. “After extensively testing the product, both at Wako and other Japanese laboratories, we believe it will dramatically change scientific methodology.”
The relationship between 20/20 and Wako was facilitated by Trade Logistics & Strategies, LLC of Bethesda, MD, which focuses on building strategic alliances between biotech companies in the U.S. and Japan. Wako and 20/20 anticipate an expanding business relationship that may include marketing rights to future 20/20 products. Other Film for Life™ products 20/20 plans to launch in 2002 include kits for analysis of DNA and RNA electrophoresis gels, software to analyze images generated by these kits, and a rapid assay for use in bioterrorism defense. The company is also negotiating alliances with pharmaceutical companies to help them identify protein profiles of patients most likely to respond to their candidate drugs.
“Wako’s extensive sales network throughout Japan and Asia will allow rapid market penetration of our products in that important region of the world,” said 20/20 GeneSystems’ CEO Jonathan Cohen. “It is a real honor for a young company like 20/20 to be partnering with an established and respected global enterprise like Wako.”
Protein analysis is important because groups of proteins form signaling pathways to carry out key biological functions within cells. Most diseases – including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, and psychiatric disorders – result from the malfunctioning of one or more proteins within a signaling pathway. Many drugs are being developed to reverse the effects of malfunctioning signaling proteins, including a new class of designer “smart drugs” that attack tumors. 20/20’s P-FILM can be applied to diseased tissue to determine which proteins in the pathway are functioning abnormally and help predict whether a particular drug will effectively treat that disease.
Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd. (www.wako-chem.co.jp), is the leading supplier of life science reagents in Japan. Founded in 1922, the company distributes both its own products as well as those of foreign and domestic manufacturers. Wako recently opened an office in Bethesda, MD to help forge alliances with biotech companies in Maryland and other parts of the U.S.
20/20 GeneSystems (www.2020gene.com), based in Rockville, MD, was founded in May 2000 to co-develop the P-FILM technology with the National Cancer Institute. The privately-held company maintains exclusive rights to this technology.
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