KineMed, Inc. Enters Alliance With CMIC Co., Ltd. In Japanese Market
EMERYVILLE, Calif., May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- KineMed, Inc., a pathway-based drug discovery and development company, announced today that it has entered a strategic alliance with CMIC Co., Ltd., (Tokyo Stock Exchange 1st section), a contract research organization providing clinical development services in Asia. The goal of the alliance is to identify compounds for indications discovery and potential joint development.
Under the terms of the agreement, CMIC will seek compounds within Japanese pharmaceutical firms for indications discovery, which KineMed will undertake by applying its proprietary technologies (AquaTag(TM) and KineMarker(TM)). Upon successful discovery, KineMed may pursue collaborative development with a Japanese pharma partner or in-license agents for its own development programs. According to the agreement, CMIC will have the option to become KineMed's partner and fund clinical development for the Japanese market through Phase 2a.
"CMIC shares with KineMed a commitment to excellence in advancing new drugs that can address substantial unmet medical needs," said CMIC chief executive officer, Kazuo Nakamura. "KineMed's technology facilitates new indications discovery in a highly predictive manner, which we believe will provide a significant advantage and allow us to further deepen our relationships with our customer base in the Japanese market."
David Fineman, President and CEO of KineMed, stated, "By working with the premier CRO in Japan, we will enhance our ability to tap the potential of the life sciences sector in this region. CMIC may also become a significant clinical partner for us, paralleling our own transition into the clinic in the U.S. market, where we intend to file our first IND application in an important disease area by early 2007."
About KineMed, Inc.
KineMed, Inc. is a pathway-based drug discovery and development company employing its proprietary biomarker technology (AquaTag(TM) and KineMarker(TM)) to measure the real-time activity of drugs in whole body systems. KineMed is developing therapeutics both on its own and with pharma collaborators, efficiently translating compounds into drugs with a desired biological effect on validated disease pathways. KineMed's technology expedites the drug development process and has demonstrated results in metabolic disorders, neurodegeneration, diseases of inflammation and cancer, among other conditions. For further information about KineMed, please visit: http://www.kinemed.com/
About CMIC Co., Ltd.
Since its founding in 1985, CMIC Co., Ltd., Japan's leading clinical research organization (CRO), has rapidly expanded its pharmaceutical development business to service the booming pharma-medical industry in Japan. With more than 1,700 employees throughout Japan, CMIC provides a portfolio of comprehensive clinical development solutions including consulting services of clinical development and regulatory strategies, and providing clinical development services including site selection, document management, site management, investigator contracts, monitoring, data management, etc. Furthermore, CMIC offers clinical research coordinators (CRC) and a patient recruitment center. In addition to its Japanese operations, CMIC has subsidiaries for their operations in Korea, China, and most recently in Brazil. For more information about CMIC, please visit http://www.cmic.co.jp/e.
KineMed, Inc.CONTACT: Brent Vaughan, Chief Business Officer of KineMed, Inc.,+1-510-655-6525, ext. 110; or Media: Justin Jackson, jjackson@burnsmc.com;or Investors: John Cummings, jcummings@burnsmc.com, both of BurnsMcClellan, +1-212-213-0006, both for KineMed, Inc.; or Mitsunobu Hara,Corporate Officer of CMIC Co., Ltd., mitsunobu-hara@cmic.co.jp