Euroscreen Strengthens its Patent Position in the Field of Inflammatory Targets
European patent awarded for uses of Chemerin receptor and its natural ligand, both implicated in the control of physiological and pathological inflammatory reactions
Brussels, Belgium (PRWEB) November 9, 2005
Euroscreen SA, a world leader in G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), today announced the issuance of a key European patent which protects the uses of Chemerin receptor and its natural ligand to find compounds that modulate its activity, and thus may have pharmaceutical potential.
The Chemerin receptor was cloned and characterized by the team of Professor Marc Parmentier at the Institute of Interdisciplinary Research (IRIBHM) of the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Their studies have shown that Chemerin receptor is mainly expressed on Dendritic Cells and Macrophages which are Antigen Presenting Cells (APCs), and that the natural ligand of Chemerin receptor (Chemerin) is a novel chemoattractant factor that specifically attracts APCs through this receptor. Recent data obtained at the IRIBHM strongly suggest that the central role played by APCs both in the initiation of immune responses and in the link between innate and adaptive immunity could be regulated by Chemerin receptor and its Chemerin ligand.
The European patent (1 405 083 B1) relates in particular to (i) screening methods to single out compounds that modulate, either up or down, the biological activity of Chemerin receptor, (ii) kit for screening agents that modulate the binding or the signaling activity of Chemerin receptor, (iii) kit for the diagnosis of a disease or disorder characterized by dysregulation of Chemerin receptor signaling, and (iv) the natural ligand of Chemerin receptor. The issuance of equivalent patents in the USA, Japan and Canada will occur in the near future.
Commenting on the announcement, Prof. Marc Parmentier, CSO and founder of Euroscreen, said: “This European patent award is a significant milestone in the positioning of Euroscreen as a GPCR company focused on inflammatory diseases and encourages us to pursue our efforts in internal drug discovery programs encompassing several inflammatory targets including the Chemerin receptor.”
For further information, please contact:
Euroscreen s. a. Tel: +32 71 348 500
Pierre Nokin, Ph. D.
President and CEO
Vincent Lannoy, Ph. D.
Business Development and Licensing Manager
About Euroscreen SA
Euroscreen is a world leader in G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). The Company integrates its research expertise in this area with its patented high-throughput AequoScreen™ cellular assay platform to patent new GPCR targets and drug candidates.
The Company is building its own patent portfolio of GPCR targets and novel drug leads for licensing to biopharmaceutical companies, and to date has agreements with Amersham/GE Healthcare, Cephalon, ChemDiv, Evotec, ICOS, Merck & Co, Pfizer Inc, Solvay, Syngenta and UCB. Euroscreen has also established collaborations with numerous academic centers for access to licenses to help in making available its broad menu of GPCR-based products (recombinant cell lines and membrane preparations) and services (custom screening and cloning).
Euroscreen has grown significant and strong patent positions to protect many key drug targets for licensing. Such patents include CCR5, Chemerin receptor, GPR43, GPR7/8, purinergic receptors (P2Y4, P2Y11 and P2Y13) and SHIP2 for type II diabetes. Euroscreen is able to offer intellectual property rights to companies for the development of therapeutic drugs that act through the above-mentioned targets. For more information regarding the Euroscreen’s portfolio, please contact Dr. Vincent Lannoy.
Euroscreen is a privately held company based in Brussels, Belgium with 80 employees of which 50 are in R&D.
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