GNSC Genaissance Pharmaceuticals (MM)

Genaissance Allowed Patent for Novel Methods to Correlate Genetics With Drug Safety and Efficacy - Physicians Will Ultimately Gain More Information for Smarter Prescribing - NEW HAVEN, Conn., Jan. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:GNSC), a leading developer and user of genetic information to help guide medical therapy, received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a patent claiming methods for identifying correlations between the safety and efficacy of drugs and patients' unique genetic signatures. Genaissance developed this technology, the DecoGen(R) Informatics System, with the goal of reducing adverse events and increasing positive outcomes of broadly used medicines through more informed prescribing decisions. The allowed patent claims specifically cover novel haplotype correlation methods for identifying drug safety and efficacy markers as well as disease susceptibility markers. The DecoGen(R) Informatics System combines a comprehensive database of genetic variation information with a set of computer applications for storing and analyzing genetic variation, especially in the context of pharmacogenetic clinical trials. The Company expects that the patent, titled "Methods for Obtaining and Using Haplotype Data," will issue in the first half of 2005. The DecoGen(R) system is a key component in Genaissance's Phase II pharmacogenetic development plans for vilazodone, an antidepressant drug candidate recently licensed from Merck KGaA, and also in the fulfillment of obligations in support of clinical trials with its pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical partners. "DecoGen(R)'s throughput and accuracy have established it as an important technology for discovering genetic variables that are likely to interfere with a drug's intended features," notes Kevin Rakin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Genaissance. "This knowledge can be of immense value to physicians in their current prescribing patterns and may also help in the reformulation of drugs to avoid adverse events." "Our unique informatics-intensive approach of utilizing haplotype-based association methods has increased our ability to identify genetic markers of clinical significance. Recently published results from STRENGTH and data from CARING have identified haplotype markers of drug response (both efficacy and safety) that are of greater specificity and sensitivity than have previously been discovered using standard pharmacogenetic association methods," stated Richard Judson, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Genaissance. Genaissance has patent applications pending that cover other methods within the DecoGen(R) Informatics System, including Genaissance's HAP(TM) Builder software, which builds haplotypes with high accuracy from genotypes for multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a gene. About Genaissance Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is developing innovative products based on its proprietary pharmacogenomic technology and has a revenue-generating business in DNA and pharmacogenomic products and services. Genaissance also markets its proprietary FAMILION(TM) Test, designed to detect mutations responsible for causing Familial Long QT and Brugada Syndromes, two causes of sudden cardiac death. The Company's product development strategy is focused on drug candidates with promising clinical profiles and finding genetic markers to identify a responsive patient population. This strategy enables Genaissance to leverage existing clinical data and, thus, reduce the costs and risks associated with traditional drug development and increase the probability of clinical success and commercialization. The Company's lead therapeutic product, vilazodone for depression, is in Phase II of development. For more information on Genaissance, visit our website at: http://www.genaissance.com/. This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the expected issuance of the patent covering the DecoGen(R) Informatics System, the expected growth and development of Genaissance's business, such as Genaissance's efforts to build a drug candidate pipeline, the timing and outcome of its genetic testing programs, the ability of Genaissance to apply its technologies to the development, marketing and prescribing of drugs and Genaissance's ability to detect associations between clinical outcomes and genetic variation. Such statements are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, events and performance to differ materially from those referred to in such statements, including, but not limited to, the extent to which genetic markers (haplotypes) are predictive of clinical outcomes and drug efficacy and safety, the attraction of new business and strategic partners, the adoption of our technologies by the pharmaceutical industry, the acceptance of our cardiac tests by health care providers, the timing and success of clinical trials, competition from pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostics companies, the strength of our intellectual property rights and those risks identified in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2004, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 15, 2004, and in other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgment of Genaissance as of the date of this release. Genaissance disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement. DATASOURCE: Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Richard S. Judson, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Senior Vice President, R&D, +1-203-786-3617, , or Matthew W. Kalnik, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Business Development, +1-203-786-3588, , both of Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; or Rhonda Chiger (investors) of Rx Communications, +1-917-322-2569, ; or Tom Redington (media) of Redington, Inc., +1-203-222-7399, Web site: http://www.genaissance.com/

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