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23 November 2004
KuDOS to spin off external CRO activities
KuDOS Pharmaceuticals (KuDOS), a leading private oncology
company, today announces that it plans to spin off its chemical
research activities for external clients to a newly formed organisation,
headed by Dr Ian Matthews, the former Chief Scientific Officer of
KuDOS’ wholly-owned subsidiary, ChemOvation Ltd based in Horsham,
UK.
KuDOS will focus all chemistry activity at its Horsham
site on KuDOS’ internal novel anticancer programmes.
The new organisation, in which KuDOS expects to retain
a minority shareholding, will retain the name ChemOvation and will
focus on the provision of those chemistry services previously undertaken
for third parties by ChemOvation Ltd. The new organisation will
be staffed by a team of scientists with extensive experience in
providing chemistry services to pharmaceutical clients.
Founded by Dr. Matthews in 1999, ChemOvation Ltd was
acquired by KuDOS in 2001. The company has successfully grown and
developed as a chemical research organisation through collaboration
with KuDOS. The decision to spin off the third party activities
of ChemOvation Ltd will allow both parts of the business to focus
on their business objectives.
KuDOS is committed to making the transfer of all third
party activities to Ian Matthews' new organisation a seamless and
smooth process, maintaining the quality and range of services previously
offered by ChemOvation Ltd. Financial terms of the spin-out transaction
have not been disclosed.
Dr Ian Matthews, CEO and Chairman designate of ChemOvation, said,
“By forming an independent operation, ChemOvation will have
a clear strategic focus, enabling the continued growth of the business.”
Dr Barrie Ward, Chief Executive of KuDOS, said, “By
spinning off our external chemical research activities, KuDOS is
better placed to focus on its internal requirements and ensure the
rapid advancement of its developing pipeline.”
For more information please contact:
ChemOvation
Dr Ian Matthews
Tel: +44 (0)1403 251276
KuDOS Pharmaceuticals
Cheryl Bishop
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 719 719
Financial Dynamics
Ben Atwell / Davina Langdale
Tel: +44 (0) 207 831 3113
NOTES TO EDITORS
About ChemOvation
ChemOvation is a leading provider of drug discovery service to the
pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. It provides a fully integrated
service specialising in medicinal chemistry, organic chemistry,
computational chemistry, screening, and ADME and early toxicology.
ChemOvation offers clients a wealth of scientific knowledge and
expertise to ensure success in their drug discovery projects. Whether
it’s for lead optimisation, hit expansion or customs synthesis,
ChemOvation provides the complete outsourcing for drug discovery
projects.
About KuDOS Pharmaceuticals
KuDOS Pharmaceuticals Limited holds a leading position in the discovery
and development of small molecule drugs based upon the science of
DNA damage sensing, signalling and repair to address unmet medical
needs in cancer treatment. KuDOS currently has two drugs in clinical
trials: Patrin™, which is being developed for the treatment
of cancers resistant to alkylating agents, and banoxantrone (AQ4N),
which targets hypoxic regions of tumours. Research continues on
DNA-PK, ATM, PARP and mTOR inhibitors, with a candidate compound
for PARP currently in preclinical assessment. For more information
about KuDOS please visit, www.kudospharma.co.uk
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