Celera Genomics And Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Enter Target Discovery Alliance

ROCKVILLE, Md.--Celera Genomics announced a three-year gene discovery agreement with Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, the pharmaceutical subsidiary of Rhone-Poulenc, to identify therapeutic targets by applying Celera's proprietary GeneTag technology to Rorer's disease model systems. GeneTag is a global gene expression profiling technology that provides a rapid, quantitative measurement of all RNA transcripts present in a cell or tissue. According to Celera, it is capable of detecting rare and novel transcripts in quantities less than one copy per cell and enables researchers to quickly focus on genes relevant to the specific disease model, biological pathway, or drug response under investigation. Rorer will pay up-front fees, milestones, and royalties to Celera in connection with commercialization of any drugs resulting from the alliance. In addition, Rorer has the option to access Celera's capabilities for full-length cDNA cloning and functional characterization of candidate genes. Financial terms were not announced.