MassBio Industry News

MBC Industry News from BusinessWire

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:10:00 EDT

MBC Industry News from BusinessWire

Genocea Biosciences Wins Best Vaccine Startup Award at World Vaccine Conference 2008

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:03:00 EDT

April 23, 2008

Contact:

Rebecca Howe Genocea Biosciences 617.876.8191 ext. 200

Rebecca.Howe@genocea.com

Genocea awarded first ever Vaccine Industry Excellence Award

Cambridge, MA – April 23, 2008 – Genocea Biosciences, a leading vaccine discovery and development company, today announced it won the “Best Vaccine Startup” award at the largest global vaccine conference, the World Vaccine Congress 2008 in Washington, D.C.

A panel of international judges selected Genocea from over 60 award submissions as the inaugural startup company recipient of the Vaccine Industry Excellence Award (ViE). The ViE Awards have been launched by event organizer Terrapinn to celebrate and recognize excellence and the forward progress of the global vaccines industry. Selection criteria was based on strength of pipeline, quality of investors, reputation of team, and overall technology for companies that have been launched in the past five years.

“This award is a testament to the dedication and vision of our scientific founder Darren Higgins, the tireless efforts of our founding team, and to the world-renowned vaccine industry experts who have joined Genocea,” said Robert Paull, co-founder and President of Genocea Biosciences. “Leaders of some of the most successful vaccine companies, such as Merck Vaccines, Wyeth Vaccines, and CSL Ltd., have validated our technology as an industry-transforming platform. We’re honored and very appreciative of the recognition.”

Founded in 2006, Genocea Biosciences is focused on identifying antigens for the next generation of novel vaccines. By recreating the human immune system in vitro, Genocea can identify which antigenic epitopes will elicit a competent immune response. Genocea has assembled a world-class team of vaccine experts including George Siber M.D., Former Chief Scientific Officer of Wyeth Vaccines, Adel Mahmoud, M.D., Ph.D., Former President of Merck Vaccines, and Ian Gust, M.D., Former Director of Research at CSL Ltd.

About Genocea Biosciences:

Genocea Biosciences is commercializing key breakthroughs in vaccine discovery and development. Genocea can rapidly identify antigens that result in the in vivo stimulation of protective CD8+ and CD4+ T cells, targets that can be immediately incorporated into existing antigen delivery systems to produce multivalent vaccine formulations that have the highest probability of generating protective cell-mediated immunity. Genocea is currently developing vaccines for disease such as chlamydia trachomatis. Visit www.genocea.com for more information.

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Genocea Biosciences. • 161 1st Street, Suite 2C • Cambridge, MA 02139 • 617.876.8191 • www.genocea.com

Pre-Characterized Hooke Kits(TM) Eliminate Tedious Emulsion Preparation, Induce Eae And Cia

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:39:00 EDT

Contact: Dave Lindbergh
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
   Hooke Laboratories, Inc.
   Cell: 617 501 5845
   Email: lindbergh@hookelabs.com
   http://hookelabs.com

PRE-CHARACTERIZED HOOKE KITS™ ELIMINATE TEDIOUS EMULSION PREPARATION, INDUCE EAE AND CIA
Kits Accelerate Science by Saving Time In Testing, Ensuring Successful In Vivo Experiments

Lawrence, MA, April 14 2008 — Hooke Laboratories, Inc. today announced the introduction of seven Hooke Kit™ products for immunization and induction of EAE and CIA in mice. For the first time, scientists studying autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and multiple sclerosis will no longer have to tediously prepare emulsions and test individual reagents before starting experiments.

The pre-characterized Hooke Kits™ introduced today are supplied in pre-filled syringes, ready to use. They ensure reliable and consistent disease induction, as each batch is extensively tested and individually adjusted for use with different sub-strains and ages of laboratory mice.
Properly prepared emulsions are critical for reliable induction of many autoimmune disease models, such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE, a mouse model of human multiple sclerosis) and collagen-induced arthritis (CIA, one of the most commonly used animal models of human rheumatoid arthritis). Hooke’s emulsions are pre-made and pre-tested to reduce the time needed to set up experiments.
Suzana Marusic, MD, PhD, President and Founder of Hooke Laboratories said “We’re really delighted with the consistent EAE and CIA induction rates we’ve been able to achieve with these kits. By choosing a Hooke Kit™ with potency adjusted for particular mouse sub-strains and ages, our customers can induce CIA in 100% of DBA/1 mice of either Taconic or Jackson origin – even in females, which is usually extremely difficult.”
-more-

Pre-Characterized Hooke Kits™ (page 2)
The seven Hooke Kit™ products announced today are:

Hooke Kits™ for EAE Induction:

Cat #	Hooke Kit™	Mouse strain	Mouse age
EK-0110	MOG35-55/CFA Emulsion PTX	C57BL/6 (Taconic)	8–12 weeks
EK-0112	MOG35-55/CFA Emulsion PTX	C57BL/6 (JAX)	10–14 weeks
EK-0113	MOG35-55/CFA Emulsion PTX	C57BL/6 (Taconic)	16–20 weeks

Hooke Kits™ for Immunization:

Cat #	Hooke Kit™	Mouse strain	Mouse age
EK-0111	MOG35-55/CFA Emulsion	C57BL/6	8–10 weeks
EK-0122	PLP139-151/CFA Emulsion	SJL	8–10 weeks

Hooke Kits™ for CIA Induction:

Cat #	Hooke Kit™	Mouse strain	Mouse age
EK-0210	Chicken Collagen/CFA Emulsion	DBA/1	8–10 weeks
EK-0211	Chicken Collagen/IFA Emulsion	DBA/1	8–10 weeks

Additional Hooke Kit™ products are in development, including Bovine Type II collagen emulsions for induction of CIA.

Full product details, including recommended experimental protocols and typical result data, are available on the company’s web site, http://hookelabs.com.

Hooke Laboratories offers innovations that make animal research more efficient and less expensive, with the goal of accelerating cures for human diseases while reducing and refining the use of animals. Hooke is working to be the leading company providing tools for in vivo research. The company was founded by immunologist Suzana Marusic, MD, PhD.
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Editors: Photos are available at http://hookelabs.com/press/2008-04-14_Hooke_Kits(tm).doc

For additional information or to schedule an interview with Dr. Marusic, please call Dave Lindbergh at 617 501 5845 (cell) or email lindbergh@hookelabs.com.

Enanta Reports New Macrolide-Related Drug Class, Bicyclolides, to Combat Hospital and Community Acquired Superbug Infections, Including MRSA

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:36:00 EDT

Data Presented at the 10th Annual Superbugs and Superdrugs Conference on Antibacterials

WATERTOWN, Mass., April 10, 2008 – Enanta Pharmaceuticals, a leader in the development of small molecule anti-infective drugs, today announced the presentation of their breakthrough research program to evaluate a new macrolide-related drug class, Bicyclolides, in the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), and other gram-positive infection pathogens. Enanta's Bicyclolides have also demonstrated strong activity against MRSA strains resistant to vancomycin, Zyvox® (linezolid), and CUBICIN® (daptomycin).

The oral presentation, "New Bicyclolides Active Against MRSA and VRE," was presented today during the 10th Annual Superbugs and Superdrugs Conference in London, England.

“Previously, MRSA infection was a problem mainly for patients treated in hospitals,” said Robert Moellering, M.D., a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “Now we’re seeing MRSA in the general community, creating a tremendous need for a new class of antibiotics with improved safety profile and more convenient administration for use within both hospital as well as community settings. The growing problem of bacterial resistance to many existing drugs also necessitates the development of new classes of compounds to fight the battle.”

“Pre-clinical research on these new Bicyclolide compounds revealed activity against MRSA and VRE, even against highly drug-resistant MRSA strains. This was an unexpected finding, because traditional macrolides do not work against these bacteria,” explained Yat Sun Or, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Enanta. “These results are also very exciting, because we have observed activity as good as intravenously-administered vancomycin or Zyvox® with oral once-a-day dosing levels of the Bicyclolides. The convenience of oral administration and the safety profile of macrolides as a class represent patient and pharmacoeconomic benefits that could be potentially quite significant, making this program a worthwhile endeavor.”

About Enanta’s Bicyclolide research program
Bicyclolides posses a reengineered back-bone structure of traditional macrolides, whose benefits include the potential for oral and intravenous administration and limited side effects. The discovery of Bicyclolides’ effectiveness against MRSA and VRE infections is part of Enanta’s broad antibiotic research program. Enanta has applied several research strategies to develop these new classes of antibiotics, including innovative medicinal chemistry approaches to create novel and proprietary chemical structures. Enanta has applied its chemistry approach to create promising product pipelines and a vast intellectual property estate.

About MRSA
More than 130,000 people each year need hospital care for MRSA, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that
can live harmlessly on human skin and is found in the nose of 20 to 40 percent of healthy individuals, but can sometimes cause infections when exposed to broken skin. MRSA is a
particular type of the bacteria that has developed resistance to many antibiotics, including methicillin, making it difficult to treat. Currently, the antibiotic drugs typically administered to MRSA patients are intravenous. This method is expensive and inconvenient, especially for those who acquired the infection in the community and must seek hospital treatment for lengthy intravenous treatment.

About Enanta
Enanta Pharmaceuticals is a research and development company that uses its novel chemistry approach and drug discovery capabilities to create best in class small molecule
drugs in the anti-infective field. At the heart of Enanta is its commitment to innovative chemistry that surpasses traditional medicinal chemistry approaches. Enanta is developing novel protease and polymerase inhibitors targeted against the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). Additionally, the Company has created a new class of macrolide antibiotics, called Bicyclolides, which overcome bacterial resistance. Antibacterial focus areas include superbugs, respiratory tract infections, and intravenous and oral treatments for hospital and community MRSA. Enanta is a privately held company with offices in Watertown, MA. More information about the company can be found at www.enanta.com.

Zyvox is a registered trademark of Pfizer Inc. and CUBICIN is a registered trademark of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Enanta Contacts
For Enanta Investor Relations, please contact:
Paul Mellett
617-607-0761

For Enanta Public Relations, please contact MacDougall Biomedical Communications:
Kari Watson
781-235-3060
kwatson@macbiocom.com