TETERBORO, N.J. and SAN DIEGO, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Quest Diagnostics
Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), the nation's leading provider of gene-based medical
testing, information and services, announced today that it has made an equity
investment in Structural Bioinformatics, Inc. (SBI), a privately held
technology leader in computational proteomics -- the large-scale generation
and use of protein structure and protein structural information. Terms of the
transaction were not disclosed.
In July 1999, Quest Diagnostics and SBI announced a strategic alliance to
jointly develop a series of database modules of novel, structurally variant
proteins and market these products directly to the pharmaceutical and
biotechnology industry for use in developing new therapeutic compounds.
Marketed under the Variome trademark, the database modules contain thousands
of structurally variant forms of viral proteins. The data is derived from
viral genotypes taken from patient specimens that have been analyzed by Quest
Diagnostics. To protect the confidentiality of patient records, all data in
the Variome(TM) database modules has been stripped of clinical information,
rendering it anonymous.
Information contained in the database modules is essential to
understanding differences in interactions between a drug, or a potential drug
compound, and various structural mutations of the intended drug target. The
database provides a means to understanding patient-to-patient differences in
drug activity based on differences in drug target structures at a molecular
level. This knowledge is useful in drug design as well as the selection of
optimal drug candidates for initiation of human trials.
Current drug target-specific Variome(TM) database modules consist of more
than 25,000 unique structures of two HIV-1 proteins -- reverse transcriptase
and protease. These modules depict three-dimensional computer representations
of well-characterized structures to derive drug-target interactions through
computational docking.
"SBI is a technology leader in the large-scale computational generation of
protein structures and leads the field in protein-structure database
management systems and structural data mining tools," said Jorge Leon, Ph.D.,
Vice President, Applied Genomics, for Quest Diagnostics. "As the leader in
gene-based testing, Quest Diagnostics has accumulated a large database of
viral mutations. Together, we can bring to bear advances in information
technology to drive advances in patient care."
SBI also provides software tools to make the database easy to access. The
Variome(TM) interface provides a growing number of built-in query tools and is
SQL-compatible for user-directed complex queries. The large sample size
provides a representative spectrum of HIV mutations for meaningful statistics
and provides temporal and geographic trend data for changes in mutational
patterns over a period of nearly three years. Sampling is current and ongoing
with the addition of approximately 1,000 sequences/structures per month by
Quest Diagnostics' Nichols Institute.
"Our scientific and business partnership with Quest Diagnostics has
yielded significant advances in the field of structural pharmacogenomics,"
said Dr. Edward T. Maggio, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of
SBI. "We are extremely pleased at the steady growth of this relationship,
which has been driven by natural synergies between SBI's computational
technologies and Quest Diagnostics' undisputed technical excellence and market
leadership in clinical and medical informatics."
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics is the nation's leading provider of gene-based medical
testing, information and services, with a focus on infectious disease,
oncology and hereditary conditions. Quest Diagnostics' gene-based tools help
physicians target individual treatment regimes, monitor resistance to
therapies and predict susceptibility to hereditary conditions. Quest
Diagnostics is a leading innovator in genomics testing, both through its
research and development center, the world-renowned Nichols Institute, as well
as alliances with leading academic and commercial technology developers.
With annualized revenues of more than $3 billion, Quest Diagnostics is the
nation's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services. The
testing performed on human specimens helps doctors diagnose, treat and monitor
disease; enables employers to detect workplace drug abuse and supports
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in clinical trials of new
therapeutics worldwide. Quest Informatics analyzes laboratory and other
medical data to help health care providers improve the care of patients.
Additional company information can be found on the Internet at:
http://www.questdiagnostics.com.
About Structural Bioinformatics
SBI is a world leader in computational proteomics -- the large-scale
generation and use of protein structure and protein structural information.
The Company has developed advanced technologies to generate highly refined
3-dimensional structural models of proteins from primary genetic information
and commercializes these technologies through its structural database products
and through drug discovery collaborations with leading pharmaceutical
companies. SBI has offices and research facilities in San Diego, CA;
Cambridge, MA and Horsholm, Denmark. More information about SBI can be found
on the company's website at: http://www.strubix.com
SOURCE Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
CONTACT: Investors - Cathy Doherty, 201-393-5030, or Media - Gary
Samuels, 201-393-5700, both for Quest Diagnostics Incorporated/