1st Sep 2005 07:02
Sareum Holdings PLC01 September 2005 For immediate release 1 September 2005 SAREUM HOLDINGS PLC ("Sareum" or "The Company") Launch of Crystal Bank to Accelerate Structure-Based Drug Discovery Sareum Holdings plc (AIM: SAR), the specialist structure-based drug discoveryand services business, is pleased to announce the launch of "Crystal Bank", ahighly valuable resource to accelerate drug discovery by rapidly accessingprotein structure data. Sareum's Crystal Bank is a unique and expanding collection of therapeuticallyrelevant protein targets on which the Company is able to rapidly generatestructural data that illustrates the precise nature of how potential drugcandidates associate with a target protein. This valuable information assiststhe accelerated discovery of improved therapies against many important diseasesincluding cancer, inflammation and metabolic disorders. Commenting on the announcement, Sareum's Chief Executive Officer, Dr TimMitchell, said: "This exciting new extension to our capabilities provides uswith an important additional source of revenues, and very effectivelydemonstrates our success in solving the structures of therapeutically relevantproteins, a key component of our core drug discovery business." For further information: Sareum Holdings 01223 497700Tim Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer Buchanan Communications 020 7466 5000Tim Anderson, Mary-Jane Johnson Notes for editors: About Sareum Holdings plc Sareum Holdings plc is a specialist structure-based drug discovery and servicesbusiness headquartered in Cambridge, UK. The Company was formed in August 2003to discover new drugs for the treatment of cancer and to provide a range of drugdiscovery services to the pharmaceutical industry. Sareum's unique approach aimsto halve the time it takes to discover new drug candidates. Structure-based drug discovery involves the determination of a disease causingprotein's three-dimensional structure. Once the structure is known, novelchemical entities are designed to 'lock-in' to the protein with the aim ofreversing or arresting a disease's progression. Sareum's approach to structure-based drug discovery is to produce multiplerecombinant proteins primarily through its unique baculovirus expression system;determine their structure using x-ray crystallography; and then use itsinnovative template-molecule x-ray screening technology to identify new chemicalentities designed to interact with the target protein. Sareum then uses itshigh-throughput medicinal chemistry platform to rapidly synthesise furthermolecules and develop the most promising into potential drug candidates. Sareum provides its specialist drug discovery capabilities to partners in thepharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The Company aims to successfullydeliver: Programmes for complete gene-to-candidate structure-based discovery;projects to accelerate or improve the productivity of specific activities; anddrug candidates for licensing at the Phase I or Phase II clinical trials stage. Sareum joined the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in October 2004 andtrades under the symbol SAR. For further information, please visitwww.sareum.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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