By Karen Pihl-Carey

ICAgen Inc. acquired all of Axys Pharmaceuticals' ion channel technology for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition gives ICAgen a series of patents and novel ion channel drug discovery genes, comprised of targets, screens and chemistry that once belonged to Sequana Therapeutics Inc. before it merged with Arris Pharmaceutical Corp. in late 1997 to form South San Francisco-based Axys.

"What it brings to us is a substantial number of new targets that we did not previously have," said Al Lauritano, vice president of business development for ICAgen. "Axys was in various stages of working with this technology until they decided to focus in the oncology area."

Lauritano would not give any specific financial details of the acquisition, but he did say it consists of up-front payments, as well as milestones and royalties that are based on the ability to develop drugs that modulate the targets.

Axys began reducing its staff and spending as part of its plan to focus on its oncology initiative. It is divesting its businesses that are not focused on oncology. The company expects to save $17 million per year starting next year as a result of its change in strategy.

By acquiring Axys' technology, ICAgen, of Research Triangle Park, N.C., has positioned itself with a broader technology platform, allowing it to pursue drug discovery in additional therapeutic sectors, said P. Kay Wagoner, president and CEO of ICAgen.

"These are different types of ion channels. They may have very broad applications," Lauritano told BioWorld Today.

Privately held ICAgen has discovery programs in central nervous system, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, urinary and immunological disorders. It has no products in the clinic.

Ion channels are proteins found on the cell membrane. They regulate the flow of ions in and out of the cell, and affect all physiological processes in the body.

"This was a very nice opportunity to get a package of ion channels that were ready for our drug discovery efforts from somebody who is no longer going to be in that business," Lauritano said.

ICAgen entered into a research and development collaboration with Incyte Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., in February to create the world's first ion channel gene expression microarray. The company also collaborates with major universities to get its targets for drug screening.