GenOdyssee SA Announces Research Partnership With Baxter AG

Paris (ots/PRNewswire) - GenOdyssee S.A., a biotechnology company
dedicated to the discovery of novel protein therapeutic products, has
entered into a research and development cooperation agreement with
Baxter AG. GenOdyssee will use its unique intellectual property
position in the field of protein therapeutics, as well as its
proprietary technology and integrated processes, in the discovery of
novel blood clotting factors. Under the agreement, any resulting
commercially viable products will be developed and brought to market
by Baxter AG.

"We are very proud that Baxter decided to choose GenOdyssee for
the discovery of novel therapeutic proteins that may in the future
present an important product in their portfolio," said Jean-Louis
Escary, CEO of GenOdyssee. "Our unique science and Baxter's proven
leadership in hemophilia are a winning combination, one which we hope
will bring important new products forward to help the hemophilia
community."

Financial terms and conditions of the agreement were not
disclosed.

About GenOdyssee, S.A.

GenOdyssee is an innovative drug discovery company that is seeking
to leverage its unique strength in protein therapeutics and natural
genetic variation technologies to bring important new medicines to
patients. GenOdyssee uses a unique population genetics-based approach
to the discovery of next generation protein therapeutics with
superior properties. The company pioneered the vision that natural
evolution may have led to the generation in the current population of
unpredictable mutations that confer superior or novel therapeutic
status to known human therapeutic proteins.

GenOdyssee's technology is IP protected and is the sole property
of the company. The corresponding international patent application
has received the support from the European patent office regarding
the patentability and novelty of GenOdyssee's technology. The
technology is applicable to a very broad range of proteins of
potential use in human therapy across many disease areas and may
provide a wealth of next-generation protein therapeutics.

The company has applied such technology to the discovery of
next-generation IFN alpha and EPO proteins, which allowed it to
discover 2 lead IFN alpha products, GEA007.1 and GEA009.2, for
applications in respectively, hepatitis C and immunotherapy
treatments (vaccines and cancer), as well as a natural human
erythropoietin (EPO) mutant, named GO-EPO, with improved potency
compared to first generation human EPO alpha. In 2005 and 2006, these
products received international granting in the EU and USA
respectively.

Recently, GenOdyssee extended the genetic diversity of its
proprietary collection of human DNA samples to 384 individuals which
covers altogether >90% of the ethnic diversity of the human
population. These genomes are screened for naturally occurring and
inventive functionally relevant protein mutants using a stringent
screening procedure based on sophisticated bio-informatics including
functional annotation, molecular modeling calculations, and
prediction of the mutation's impact on host protein structure.
Expression and GLP production of selected protein variants are
performed, followed by extensive evaluation of their pharmacological
properties. Direct comparison is made between GenOdyssee's novel
therapeutic candidates and the reference "wild-type" proteins on the
market in models of human diseases.

The company has created an efficient, cost-saving driven, value
creation model based on project management and outsourcing of its
proprietary and integrated drug discovery process to highly skilled
and experienced service providers, minimal internal fixed costs and a
highly flexible structure. This low-burn model has proven successful
and acceptable to industrial partners, and therefore it will be
largely retained.

For more information about the company, please visit the
company's website at www.genodyssee.com

Contact: Jean-Louis Escary, Chief Executive Officer,
(+33)-(0)-6-16-41-68-57, escary@genodyssee.com

ots Originaltext: GenOdyssee SA
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Contact: Jean-Louis Escary, Chief Executive Officer,
(+33)-(0)-6-16-41-68-57, escary@genodyssee.com