ChemBridge Corporation Enters Combinatorial Chemistry Agreement with Roche

SAN DIEGO (PROTEXT) - ChemBridge Corporation announced todaythat it has entered into a three-year agreement to provide Rochewith access to ChemBridge's new PHARMACore(TM) combinatorial leaddiscovery library. Under the terms of this agreement the librarywill be provided on a non-exclusive basis to all six Rocheresearch centers in Switzerland, Germany, Japan, the UnitedKingdom, and the United States. The PHARMACore(TM) library, developed by ChemBridge during1997-1999 and just launched, represents the most advancedavailable new generation of combinatorial libraries. This high-value-added library has been designed from the ground-up to meetthe requirements of the most demanding end-user, and with itsbuilt-in hit-to-lead capabilities can streamline the wholeprocess of screening-based drug discovery from initial hit toclinical drug candidate. The library is based on ChemBridge's chemistry-focusedtechnology platform which enables design and parallel synthesisin large mg amounts of diverse, novel, chemically complex, highlypure and 100% individually quality controlled 'drug-like' smallmolecules that possess characteristics which are the mostdesirable from the medicinal chemistry prospective. Among the cornerstones of ChemBridge's proprietary chemistryplatform are its exclusive in-house custom template andintermediate collection, as well as its extensive and growingPHARMABlocks(TM) collection of custom combinatorial buildingblocks. ChemBridge's proprietary building block collection is oneof the largest in the pharmaceutical industry. It has beenpartially co-developed with several major partners includingeight out of the top ten world's largest pharmaceuticalcompanies. Access to these diverse building blocks, not availablefrom any commercial sources, adds a critical difference and valueto the PHARMACore(TM) lead discovery library. This offers uniqueopportunities to explore novel areas of chemical andpharmacophore space as well as to accelerate hit follow-up andlead optimization projects, leading to new chemical entities oftherapeutic importance. Dr. Michael Schultz, Head of Chemical Technologies and Memberof the Research Executive of Roche Pharmaceuticals, stated,"After extensive assessment of ChemBridge's specific chemistryand technology capabilities we are convinced that thePHARMACore(TM) combinatorial library is exceptionally well suitedto complement our internal efforts." Eugene F. Vaisberg, President and CEO of ChemBridgeCorporation said, "We are delighted that a company of such acaliber and scientific reputation as Roche has become the firstmajor corporate partner that gets access to our newest, and themost advanced lead discovery tool-PHARMACore(TM) combinatoriallibrary. I believe that this unique library will make itsvaluable contribution to Roche's immense globally coordinatedefforts to discover new drug leads via state-of-the-art high-throughput and ultra high-throughput screening technologies." "The Roche agreement, which involved significant evaluationvia world class scientific expertise, represents the bestpossible validation of the chemical technology present in ourPHARMACore(TM) library," added Dr. Thomas R. Webb, Director ofChemical Services and Business Development at ChemBridge and Headof ChemBridge's Combinatorial Chemistry Research Committee. "Weare very pleased that the efforts of so many who have worked onthe development of this library are being recognized." ChemBridge Corporation (www.chembridge.com) headquartered inSan Diego, CA, is a leading global provider of advanced chemicaltools for high-throughput drug discovery, serving around 150pharmaceutical, agricultural and biotech companies and researchcenters worldwide. ChemBridge's historical compound collectionsfor HTS, such as DIVERSet(TM), have set a benchmark of innovationand quality and have proven their utility in numerous client'slead generation programs. These products allowed ChemBridge togain a position of the world's largest provider of compoundcollections for screening. ChemBridge's advanced combinatorialchemistry capabilities, developed since 1997 and recentlyintroduced to the market, include, besides PHARMACore(TM)library, custom combinatorial libraries and also structure-basedtarget libraries in alliance with Protherics (formerly Proteus)PLC. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of theworld's leading healthcare groups in the field ofpharmaceuticals, diagnostics, vitamins and fragrances andflavors. Roche's products and services address all stages ofindividual health maintenance and disease management, includingprevention, diagnosis and treatment, thus enhancing people's wellbeing and quality of life. CONTACT: Eugene F. Vaisberg, President and CEO of ChemBridgeCorporation, 858-451-7400, ext. 11 ots Original Text Service:ChemBridge Corporation Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.deContact: Eugene F. Vaisberg, President and CEO of ChemBridgeCorporation, 858-451-7400, ext. 11 Web site:http://www.chembridge.com

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