AFFX Affymetrix, Inc.

Immusol Initiates Collaboration With Affymetrix to Advance Oncology Drug Discovery Efforts SAN DIEGO, June 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Immusol announced today that they have initiated a strategic collaboration with Affymetrix, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFFX) that will facilitate the discovery and characterization of new as well as existing targets for cancer therapies. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed. Immusol will utilize Affymetrix GeneChip(R) technology to identify distinct oncology pathways from its engineered tumor cells in biological assays. These modified cancer cells were developed at Immusol by specific down-regulation of tumor suppressors or oncogenes. Using GeneChip brand technology, expression of associated, affected genes will be analyzed and compared. The program aims to elucidate potential novel transformation pathways and to acquire and validate additional therapeutic target candidates. Moreover, targets will be examined over time and with varying perturbational events, allowing mechanistic information about a drug or drug target effect. Immusol will retain all rights for any discoveries. "Expanded use of the GeneChip technology will accelerate our discovery efforts and should allow us to gain valuable insight into the mechanism and therapeutic potential of current and yet-to-be-discovered targets for cancer therapies," said Dr. Flossie Wong-Staal, Immusol's Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of Research. Tarif Awad, Sr. Scientist for Genomics Collaborations at Affymetrix, commented "Affymetrix is excited to enter into this scientific collaboration with Immusol. The work will demonstrate the even broader applicability of GeneChip technology as a tool for analyzing the complex interactions between genes in a living system. We anticipate many exciting discoveries for Immusol's research team." About Immusol: Immusol is a privately-held San Diego based biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of novel therapies to treat human diseases. Immusol uses an integrated biology approach, starting with a proprietary drug discovery technology to discover therapeutic proteins and targets in the areas of cancer, viral infection, ophthalmic and metabolic diseases. Based on these discoveries, Immusol develops protein and small molecule based therapies alone or in collaboration with drug development partners. Immusol has several drug candidates in various stages of pre-clinical and clinical development. Additional information can be found at http://www.immusol.com/. DATASOURCE: Immusol CONTACT: Brian Culley, Associate Director, Business Development & Marketing of Immusol, +1-858-824-1100 Web site: http://www.immusol.com/

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