DuPont Signs Up For Sangamo's Universal GeneTools

Under a new collaborative research agreement, DuPont Pharmaceuticals will provide funding to Sangamo BioSciences Inc. in exchange for the use of Sangamo's Universal GeneTools in the identification and validation of novel gene targets for drug discovery. DuPont becomes the eighth pharmaceutical company to utilize Sangamo's Universal GeneTools technology platform in its drug development efforts.

Sangamo's Universal GeneTools technology platform enables the rational design and rapid generation of highly specific ZFP transcription factors that can selectively recognize and regulate any target gene or DNA sequence. These engineered ZFPs are being used to accelerate the functional analysis of newly discovered genes and the validation of clinically relevant gene targets thereby providing pharmaceutical researchers with a powerful tool in the search for novel, more effective therapeutics. Expressed sequence tags (ESTs), the short DNA sequences derived from genomic research, contain sufficient information for the effective design of a ZFP capable of regulating the expression of a target gene in both cell-based and transgenic animal model systems.

For more information: Sangamo BioSciences Inc., 501 Canal Boulevard, Suite A100, Richmond, CA 94804, USA. Telephone: 510-970-6000. Fax: 510-236-8951.