SyStemix Inc. announced Thursday that it will collaborate withSandoz Pharma Ltd. in a program to screen and test therapeuticagents for HIV infection. The collaborators intend to identifynew therapeutic targets, as well as test compounds already indevelopment for their anti-viral activity in vivo.

If the collaborative efforts bear fruit, SyStemix (NASDAQ:STMX)will receive royalty payments from Sandoz Pharma of Basel,Switzerland.

The companies did not disclose the terms of the agreement.

"This effort will complement our ongoing joint venture withSandoz Pharmaceutical Corp., a wholly owned affiliate ofSandoz Pharma, to develop hematopoietic cell-based genetherapies to combat HIV infection," said Linda Sonntag,president and chief executive officer of SyStemix of Palo Alto,Calif.

The collaborators also hope to illuminate the underlyingpathogenesis of AIDS with the help of SyStemix's SCID-humouse, which can be infected with HIV.

The relationship between SyStemix and Sandoz is not new.Sandoz Ltd., the parent company of Sandoz Pharma Ltd.,acquired 60 percent of SyStemix's common stock in December1991. And in April, SyStemix and Sandoz Pharmaceutical Corp.formed Progenesys, a joint venture to research and develophematopoietic cell-based gene therapies against HIV infection.

SyStemix's stock was up 75 cents a share on Thursday, closingat $18.

-- Jennifer Van Brunt Senior Editor

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