PORTLAND, Ore., April 15, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Znomics, Inc. (OTCBB:ZNOM), a pioneer in the development of the zebrafish as a vertebrate genetic platform to accelerate drug discovery, announced today the launch of a program to find lead drug compounds for the treatment of obesity.
Znomics obtained from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) an exclusive biological license to a genetic model of obesity using the zebrafish developed in the OHSU laboratory of Znomics' co-founder Roger Cone, Ph.D., a leading international researcher in the field of weight regulation. Under the direction of Stephane Berghmans, director of drug discovery at Znomics, the company intends to refine Dr. Cone's obesity model for use in the screening of small molecule compounds. The company aims to identify pre-clinical drug candidates for obesity and to partner with a pharmaceutical or biotechnology company to advance these candidates into human clinical studies.
"We are especially excited to launch this drug discovery program, which will be the first to probe the complex biology of obesity using the zebrafish for in vivo screening of compounds that act on wholly novel targets of the disease," said Roger Cone, Ph.D., president and chief scientific officer of Znomics. "The effects of obesity for individual health and medical care costs are tremendous, and we believe our drug discovery platform offers the potential to more rapidly discover new therapies for the treatment of obesity while reducing overall drug development costs."
"This program brings together all elements of Znomics' strategy for accelerating drug discovery -- utilizing zebrafish genetics, disease modeling and in vivo compound screening," said Richard Sessions, Znomics' chief executive officer. "There is a multi-billion dollar market for an effective obesity drug with minimal side effects, and we feel that our approach is directly targeted toward identifying good drug candidates."
The most recent report from the Centers for Disease Control estimated that U.S. obesity-related medical expenditures exceed $75 billion. Obesity has been shown to promote many chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, several types of cancer, and gallbladder disease. A 2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey estimated that 64 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight (33 percent) or obese (31 percent).
About Znomics
Znomics, Inc. is focused on identifying and developing new pharmaceutical products for treatment of human disorders and diseases. The company's drug discovery platform is based on its catalogued library of mutations in the zebrafish, called the ZeneMark Library. The library, the first in a vertebrate, currently contains more than 11,000 strains of fish representing mutations in more than half of the known genome. Zebrafish share 80%-90% of the same genes as humans. The company is leveraging this technology for its internal drug discovery efforts as well as establishing collaborative partnerships with pharmaceutical companies and universities. For more information, visit www.znomics.com
Forward-Looking Statements
With the exception of historical information contained in this press release, the matters described herein are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Any forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements, including statements as to industry trends, future economic performance, anticipated profitability, anticipated revenues or expenses, and products or service line growth, may be significantly and materially impacted by certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to failure to discover new therapies, failure to meet operating objectives or to execute the operating plan, competition, and other economic factors, risks regarding product development, the timing and results of clinical trials, the regulatory approval process, capital requirements, financial condition, patent protection and dependence on third parties for development and licensing arrangements. Additional risks and uncertainties are described in the Company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available online at www.sec.gov. Znomics undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For more information visit our website at www.znomics.com