Argenta Discovery Announces Two-Year Extension of Major Drug Discovery Collaboration with Genentech

Argenta Discovery Ltd., the pharmaceutical R & D group, has announced that its integrated contract drug discovery agreement with Genentech, Inc., a wholly-owned member of the Roche Group, has been extended for a further two-year period. This is the second such extension to be agreed upon since the first collaboration project under the agreement was announced in December 2005.

The agreement covers a number of drug discovery programmes that utilise Argenta's expertise in computer-aided drug design (CADD), medicinal chemistry, and in vitro biology and screening to discover new chemical entities acting against undisclosed drug targets defined by Genentech.

Commenting on the extended agreements, Dr. Christopher Ashton, Argenta's Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are delighted that Genentech has once again chosen to extend our collaboration for another two years. We believe this second extension is a reflection of Argenta's key strengths and continued commitment to deliver high quality, time- and cost-effective integrated drug discovery services and expertise. We very much look forward to continuing and growing our successful collaboration with Genentech."

Financial terms of the deal, which incorporates a number of funded FTEs at Argenta for the next two years, were not disclosed. The agreement provides further options to expand the relationship.