Euroscreen Receives Key US Patent Covering Screening Methods Using CCR5 Chemokine Receptor

CCR5 Chemokine Receptor is a Crucial Target for a Novel AIDS Therapy. Euroscreen s.a., a world leader in G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), today announced the issue of a key US patent in the area of HIV infection. The patent claims screening methods using the human CCR5 receptor.

BRUSSELS, Belgium (PRWEB) October 17, 2004 -- Euroscreen s.a., a world leader in G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), today announced the issue of a key US patent in the area of HIV infection. The patent claims screening methods using the human CCR5 receptor.

The CCR5 receptor plays a central role in the mechanism by which human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) binds to and enters white blood cells, and therefore represents a key target in the search for effective novel treatments for HIV infection and AIDS. Antibody therapy is one potential approach to blocking HIV entry as an AIDS therapy.

The US patent (6,800,447) relates in particular to screening methods to single out compounds that modulate, either up or down, the biological activity of the human CCR5 chemokine receptor.

In addition to the above-mentioned US patent, Euroscreen has already received a notice of allowance for the corresponding European patent application, and is awaiting the issuance of equivalent patent claims in Japan and Canada.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr Pierre Nokin, Euroscreen President and CEO said: We now have 3 key issued US patents covering both sequence and screening methods in the field of CCR5 receptor and HIV which is an important focus of the scientific and medical community. This third patent award is a significant milestone in the development of Euroscreen, as it represents and justifies many years of outstanding work performed by Prof. Marc Parmentier (CSO of Euroscreen) and his scientific team."

The CCR5 receptor and its role in HIV infection
The CCR5 receptor belongs to a family of cell membrane proteins called G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Specifically, CCR5 is found on the surface of T cells (white blood cells), which form part of the human immune system. The protein consists of 352 amino acids and spans the T-cell membrane seven times.

Under normal circumstances, CCR5 binds certain proteins known as chemokines, which act as chemical attractants recruiting immune cells to sites of inflammation. However, in the process of HIV infection, CCR5 acts as a crucial co-receptor, in addition to CD4 (the primary docking site of HIV), to allow HIV not just to bind to T cells but also to fuse with the cell membrane. Fusion of HIV to the T-cell membrane enables the viral genetic material to enter the cell and integrate with the hosts genome.

The initial involvement of a chemokine receptor in the process of HIV infection was suspected when certain chemokines were found to be potent suppressors of HIVs ability to infect cells. Following the identification of CCR5, it was discovered that a reason for the natural immunity of some people to HIV was a result of a 32 base-pair deletion in the CCR5 gene sequence, which resulted in the production of a non-functional CCR5 receptor.

The potential of CCR5 as a key target for anti-HIV therapies is presently in human clinical trials from a number of companies and may also have application in the treatment of other disorders such as Graft rejection, multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis.

About Euroscreen SA
Euroscreen is a world leader in G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). The Company integrates its research expertise in this area with its patented high-throughput AequoScreen cellular assay platform to patent new GPCR targets and drug candidates.

The Company is building its own patent portfolio of GPCR targets and novel drug leads for licensing to biopharmaceutical companies, and to date has agreements with, CyBio, EvotecOAI, Galapagos Genomics, GE Healthcare, ICOS, Merck & Co, Pfizer Inc, Solvay, Syngenta and UCB. Euroscreen has also established collaborations with numerous academic centers for access to licenses to help in making available its broad menu of GPCR-based products (recombinant cell lines and membrane preparations) and services (custom screening and cloning).

Euroscreen has grown significant and strong patent positions to protect many key drug targets for licensing. Such patents include CCR5, GnRH-R strongly involved in hormonal diseases and prostate cancer, GPR7/8 involved in metabolic defects and adult-onset obesity, purinergic receptors (P2Y4, P2Y11 and P2Y13) and the non-GPCR SHIP2 for type II diabetes. Euroscreen is able to offer rights to companies which are developing therapeutic drugs that act through the above-mentioned key targets mode of action. For more information regarding the Euroscreens portfolio, please contact Dr. Vincent Lannoy.

For further information, please contact:

Euroscreen s.a.   Tel: +32 71 348 500      
email: LicensingBD@euroscreen.be

Pierre Nokin, Ph.D.
President and CEO

Vincent Lannoy, Ph.D.
Intellectual Property Manager

Euroscreen is a privately held company based in Brussels, Belgium with 80 employees of which 50 are in R&D.

More information can be found at www.euroscreen.be

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