Berlin, Germany and Seattle, WA, USA - December 18, 2000 - Epigenomics AG, a biotechnology company focused on DNA methylation, today announced the merger with ORCA Biosciences, Inc., an early stage company based in Seattle, USA, developing screening tests for detecting cancer based on DNA methylation. The transaction has been approved by both companies’ boards of directors and is expected to close early 2001. No financial details were disclosed.
\"As the only other company in the world with a focus on DNA methylation, this transaction with ORCA will lead to the creation of a pre-eminent force in this very exciting market for years to come,\" stated Alexander Olek, CEO of Epigenomics AG. \"Through this merger we are able to consolidate our leading industry position, establish US operations and accelerate towards providing an operating system for tomorrow’s personalized medicines.\"
Epigenomics and ORCA have brought together their different, yet very complementary, strengths to create a company that covers the entire value chain of the bio-medical industry. \"We feel that this really makes us the partner of choice for pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies\", added Olek. Epigenomics’ strength lies in the areas of bioinformatics, neural network learning techniques, data mining, proprietary technologies for high-throughput methylation target discovery, and therapeutic applications. ORCA’s focus is in the area of sequence/gene identification technologies, sensitive detection methods and therapeutic development focused on cancer. The integration of these technology platforms provides a solid platform for entry into the new market area of drug target finding and validation based on DNA methylation.
Upon completion of the merger, ORCA Biosciences will become Epigenomics, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Epigenomics AG. Gary Schweikhardt will lead Epigenomics, Inc. in Seattle as CEO and Robert W. Day, M.D., Ph.D. will take the role of Chief Medical Officer, both reporting to Alexander Olek, President and CEO of Epigenomics AG. Their management experience and biomedical acumen complement the dynamic, visionary team of the Epigenomics founders, who all remain on the board of Epigenomics AG. Gary Schweikhardt will join the executive board in 2001.
\"The union of Epigenomics and ORCA will allow us to forge ahead with plans to automate and integrate DNA methylation detection and its application in the clinical setting. Combining these technologies will also significantly speed up the discovery of novel targets for therapeutic applications,\" said Gary Schweikhardt, CEO of ORCA Biosciences.
ORCA also brings to the transaction many valued collaborations with renowned academic institutions in the US, such as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Missouri School of Medicine.
ORCA Biosciences, Inc. is a Seattle-area biotechnology company founded in 1997 to develop, manufacture and market screening and detection, diagnostic, monitoring, and information tools based on DNA methylation to control cancer. The focus on \"controlling cancer\" is unique. The concept of cancer control as used in this context is simple and demonstrable; find disease early in as many people with cancer as possible and treat with proven therapies. However, only recently has it been possible to apply new technologies developed in molecular genetics, molecular biology, cell biology, immunology and epigenetics to identify markers of very early-stage cancers.
Epigenomics is creating an integrated genomics-based technology revolutionizing the development of personalized medicines. By detecting and interpreting DNA methylation patterns (5th BASE Genomics®) in different cells of the same person, Epigenomics has uncovered a new layer of biological information that will enable a more complete and clearer detection of complex disease. These DNA methylation signals, comparable to a genetic switch, can be digitized to create a Digital Phenotype® that reflects the genetic activity of a particular cell, i.e., whether the cell is healthy or sick. Epigenomics’ sophisticated machine learning methods extract valuable information from these extremely high dimensional data to form the basis of a diagnostic component of personalized medicines. In December 1999, Epigenomics established the Human Epigenome Consortium with the Sanger Centre (UK), Centre National de Génotypage (France), German Cancer Research Centre, Technical University of Berlin and the Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Genetics (Germany) to reveal the entire epigenetic information content of the human genome. Based in Berlin, Germany, Epigenomics currently employs a team of over 50. For additional information, please visit our new web site at www.epigenomics.com.
