     GenPath Pharmaceuticals Announces Issuance of Fundamental U.S. Patent Covering its Proprietary Cancer ModelsCambridge, MA, October 29, 2003 - GenPath Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a drug discovery and development company focused on the treatment of cancer and other diseases, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a fundamental patent covering GenPath's novel inducible cancer models. GenPath has exclusive rights under the patent from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The research on which the claims in the newly issued patent are based was conducted in the labs of Dr. Lynda Chin and Dr. Ronald DePinho at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. "The issuance of this patent is recognition that the approach we have taken to modeling human cancer in mice is truly novel. This technology holds great promise for fundamentally changing the way in which new cancer drugs are discovered and developed, and ultimately for making a meaningful difference in the lives of cancer patients," said Dr. Chin. "The issuance of this fundamental patent further confirms our leadership in providing a very powerful technology to discover and develop novel cancer therapeutics," said Tuan Ha-Ngoc, President and CEO of GenPath. "This patent serves as the first building block of a broad intellectual property portfolio that will include our proprietary models, research tools, novel targets and innovative cancer drugs. This event represents a key accomplishment for our young company and adds to the business and scientific progress we've made over the past 18 months since our founding," added Ha-Ngoc. Patent No. 6,639,121 includes claims to genetically-engineered mouse models which can be induced to form tissue-specific tumors. These models, which more faithfully reproduce human cancer than traditional models, are a powerful tool for the discovery and development of new cancer drugs. About GenPathGenPath employs powerful, proprietary genetic model systems to discover and develop drugs against essential targets critical to the origin, maintenance, and spread of malignant tumors. This novel, high-throughput in-vivo pathway technology platform enables the rapid functional prioritization of only the most relevant drug targets, thus dramatically improving the efficiency of drug discovery. In addition, when coupled with high-throughput genomics and bioinformatics, this platform is designed to enhance drug development through the identification of novel biomarkers for both exposure and efficacy endpoints to guide clinical development. Beyond oncology, GenPath's technologies are broadly applicable to other disease states, including cardiovascular, metabolic and neurodegenerative disorders. GenPath is a privately held company located in Cambridge, MA. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.aveopharma.com. |
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