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AMBRYX INC. ANNOUNCES EXCLUSIVE AGREEMENT WITH THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
La Jolla, CA (October 15, 1999) – Ambryx Inc. announced the signing of an exclusive agreement with Johns Hopkins University regarding enabling technology and molecules related to chemosensation and olfaction. The technology includes methods for functional expression of an olfactory receptor library used for ligand identification (Cell, Vol 95, 917-926, Dec. 23, 98). The novel set of molecules is implicated in the processes of taste and smell through the binding and presentation of olfactants and tastants.
To understand chemosensory processes, we need to identify the underlying molecules and elucidate their interactions,"said Dr. Lubert Stryer, a founder of the Company and chairman of its board of directors. This agreement gives Ambryx access to certain key chemosensory proteins and methods from the laboratories of Dr. Randall Reed, Dr. Solomon Snyder, and Dr. King-Wai Yau of Johns Hopkins University.
This agreement is a valuable addition to Ambryx's growing intellectual property base. It adds strategically important scientific methods and molecular components involved in sensory signal transduction, said Steve Snyder, Ambryx's executive director, corporate development.
Ambryx is dedicated to becoming the world leader in the discovery and commercialization of products and services relevant to chemosensation in a broad range of markets including consumer food, cosmetic, therapeutic, household, agricultural and industrial applications.
The Company is assembling a matrix of technologies including proprietary chemoreceptors involved in the detection, quantification, signal transduction, and perception of mediators and modulators of taste, olfaction and other sensory modalities.
Ambryx has an exclusive agreement with the University of California regarding a set of novel molecules involved in the biology of taste, including two candidate taste receptors. Ambryx will utilize a range of recent advances in cellular and molecular biology, genomics, combinatorial chemistry, biomolecular screening, informatics and other areas to create a new type of company. If developed to their full potential these technologies will enrich the quality of life for consumers.
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