ProSkelia confirms the benefits of Nucleis "Speedy Mouse Technology"

NUCLEIS, a biotech company specialized in custom-made genetically modified mice, recently introduced the fastest and most powerful tool in mice transgenesis with its innovative Speedy Mouse® Technology: from DNA to characterized founders in 36 days. This proprietary technology combines the power of the new BPES Cells with the advantages of targeted insertion at the HPRT docking site. NUCLEIS has signed a pilot contract with PROSKELIA which has successfully tested and validated the benefits of the Speedy Mouse® Technology on four constructs.

Lyon, France (PRWEB) May 28, 2004 -- NUCLEIS, a biotech company specialized in custom-made genetically modified mice, recently introduced the fastest and most powerful tool in mice transgenesis with its innovative Speedy Mouse® Technology: from DNA to characterized founders in 36 days.

This proprietary technology combines the power of the new BPES Cells with the advantages of targeted insertion at the HPRT docking site.

NUCLEIS has signed a pilot contract with PROSKELIA which has successfully tested and validated the benefits of the Speedy Mouse® Technology on four constructs.

Dr Philippe Clément-Lacroix, Head of Transgenic Laboratory of PROSKELIA, said: Today, the bottleneck of Genomic approaches is the time necessary for the in vivo validation of new relevant genes. The Speedy Mouse® Technology clearly optimises in 36 days the generation of a new transgenic mouse model and gives the possibility to compare phenotypes obtained with different genes due to the ability to control the site of insertion. This technology opens new potentialities for in vivo validation with strong benefits for our research".

Dr Carole FAGES, Business Development Director of NUCLEIS added: "We are about to launch the Speedy Mouse® Technology applied to the knock-down approach ("Speedy Mouse® RNAi"). The "Speedy KO/KI" using the powerful BPES cells has already been validated. We are convinced that our Speedy Mouse® portfolio is a perfect tool for the pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies which strive to accelerate R&D processes and pre-clinical studies".

Sylvie BROMAN, CEO of NUCLEIS concluded: "It was a pleasure to collaborate with PROSKELIA. With Speedy Mouse®, we believe to become within the next two years one of the leading genetically modified service company in the world. We already have signed or routinely completed a significant number of Speedy Mouse® contracts with global pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies and major academic research centres worldwide."

NUCLEIS is focused on custom made transgenic mice providing a wide and innovative portfolio of services. Nucleis, Architect in Transgenesis, provides scientific and technical solutions to create the transgenic model that fits best the researcher's project. Nucleis animal house is integrated in a brand new A2 and SPF transgenesis center which responds totally to the most drastic sanitary requirements. Nucleis R&D programs aim at optimizing the creation of specific transgenic models through the improvement of time, predictability and selection. Website : www.nucleis.com

PROSKELIA is an independent European biopharmaceutical company spun-off from Aventis in July 2002 and focused on bone and hormone disorders. ProSkelias big pharma heritage is evident in both the qualities and capabilities of its teams and its pipeline. With three compounds in development for four indications, and 10 pre-clinical programs, ProSkelia is well positioned for future in- and out-licensing opportunities to grow its business. ProSkelia is backed by two major investors, Warburg Pincus and Aventis SA and was the biotechnology sectors largest private equity investment in 2002. Based in Romainville, a suburb of Paris, France, ProSkelia employs about 100 people. More information on ProSkelia can be found on www.proskelia.com

Contact: Dr Carole FAGES, fages@nucleis.com, 33 (0)4 37 37 45 38