Overview

Formed in 1998 as a spin-out from Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals Inc., Atugen AG focuses on target discovery and validation. The company’s core KnockDown technology addresses one of the major bottlenecks in drug discovery and development identifying the right targets for therapeutic intervention. With a worldwide license to Ribozyme’s GeneBloc technology, Atugen determines gene function by using ribozymes to inactivate gene products.

Atugen's patent portfolio position is comprised of more than 70 issued, six allowed and 180 pending patents. The patents cover all of Atugen's core technologies, including GeneBloc technology, delivery vehicles and ribozymes.

Partners

Atugen was started with an initial financing of $20 million. Atugen has validated more than 200 targets for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide under different partner-ship agreements. It has signed agreements with Novo Nordisk A/S, of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Oxford GlycoSciences plc, of Oxford, UK.

In June 2001, Atugen said it is collaborating with the Serono Pharmaceutical Research Institute, a division of Serono SA, of Geneva, Switzerland, to utilize Atugen's gene target validation services.