Citation
(1999), "The LION roars", Work Study, Vol. 48 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.1999.07948gaf.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited
The LION roars
Bayer AG has concluded a five-year research agreement with Heidelberg-based LION Bioscience AG in the life science fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Payments under the agreement will be performance-related, totalling up to 100 million US dollars. The objective of this alliance is to make more efficient use of leading-edge genomics and information technologies to identify and develop innovative drugs and diagnostic markers. This is expected to accelerate the pace of research considerably and thus also enhance product development.
During the agreement period, LION will establish a bioinformatics center (LION Bioscience Research Inc., LBRI) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which Bayer will have the option of "spinning-in" to the Bayer Group in year five. A special bioinformatics concept (Bayer SCOUT) is being developed to draw information from a wide variety of global databases, to analyze it and to employ it efficiently in the search for drug targets.
This integrated package of hardware and software will allow LION Inc. to identify at least 500 new, disease-associated gene sequences (target candidates) which may be suitable starting points for new drug therapies. LBRI will also identify genetic diagnostic markers for the early detection of diseases and supply them to Bayer.
"Most innovations in the life sciences are coming from highly specialized companies which are mostly located in the US. I am personally delighted that we have now found a competent partner in Germany. This is proof that the efforts to develop this country into a leading place for biotech innovations are bearing fruit. Nevertheless, because the US is still the leader in this sector, the decision was made to locate LBRI in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in close proximity to worldwide leading research groups. The policy of acquiring external intelligence, implementing it within Bayer and applying it to our life-science research will strengthen our competitiveness", commented Dr Manfred Schneider, Chairman of Bayer AG's board of management.
Biotechnology plays a vital role in developing innovative drugs at Bayer. Genomics and bioinformatics are leading-edge technologies which are revolutionizing the discovery of drug substances. The process starts with analysis of the human genetic blueprint (genome) to identify genes or proteins produced by genes which play a causal role in the development of disease. These proteins are known as drug targets, and are subsequently tested against substances from Bayer's 1.5-million-strong compound library using automated screening technology. Any substance that responds during this process is a potential candidate for further drug development.
"Bioinformatics, an interdisciplinary science combining molecular biology and informatics, helps us to analyze the flood of data and to identify correlations between normal and pathologically-modified gene sequences. Our alliance with LION Bioscience AG will enable us to make vital progress in this field", explained Dr Wolfgang Hartwig, head of Pharmaceutical Research at Bayer AG. He pointed out that Bayer also cooperates with a large number of other industrial organizations. In September 1998, for example, Bayer concluded the most extensive cooperation agreement ever signed in the field of genetic research with the American biotechnology company Millennium Pharmaceuticals.
"We are happy to enter this challenging partnership with Bayer AG, which represents the attainment of a major milestone in LION's young history. Together we will pioneer the application of IT for drug discovery and revolutionize life-science research", said Dr. Friedrich von Bohlen und Halbach, chief executive officer of LION Bioscience AG in Heidelberg. LION Bioscience AG was founded in 1997. It has over 150 employees and is a leading supplier of informatics systems in the life sciences.
Bayer is an international, research-based group with major businesses in life sciences, polymers and specialty chemicals. With 145,100 employees worldwide, the group recorded income before taxes of DM 5.3 billion on sales of DM 54.9 billion in 1998. For the current year, DM 5.2 billion is earmarked for capital expenditures. A record DM 4.3 billion is budgeted for research and development, attesting to the company's drive for innovation.