Announcement - Clontech Laboratories, Inc. Releases the iDimerize™ Cell Signaling and Expression Systems

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Clontech Laboratories, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takara Bio Inc., today announced the release of the iDimerize inducible dimerization systems. Based on the widely used ARGENT™ technology developed by ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARIA), the iDimerize systems enable precise, real-time control of protein-protein interactions using specific cell-permeable chemical ligands, called dimerizers. Any cellular process that can be activated or inactivated by protein-protein interactions can be controlled in real time by dimerizers, either in vitro or in vivo, by fusing the proteins of interest to specific dimerization domains.

Carol Lou, General Manager of Clontech Laboratories, Inc., comments: "Clontech has a long history of leadership in the development of technologies for understanding gene function. We are pleased to collaborate with ARIAD to add the proven and established iDimerize inducible dimerization systems to our portfolio of protein expression and function control systems, which include the Tet-On® 3G and Tet-Express™ systems for inducible gene expression and the ProteoTuner™ systems for inducible protein stabilization."  

The iDimerize systems are based, in part, on technology and intellectual property initially developed by faculty at Harvard and Stanford Universities and further developed and optimized by ARIAD scientists to create the ARGENT technology. Inducible dimerization is a powerful tool to validate the specific role of a protein in disease: Over 400 scientific publications have described uses of this versatile technology in diverse research areas, including functional analysis of signaling proteins (e.g. protein kinases) and of non-signaling proteins (e.g. cell-adhesion molecules). Since dimerizers are compatible with in vivo use, numerous dimerizer-inducible mouse models of disease have also been developed.

Previously, the ARGENT systems were only available to academic investigators upon request through a web-based MTA program established by ARIAD. In forming their exclusive partnership, ARIAD and Clontech now make these systems broadly available to all researchers for in vitro and in vivo use in the research market. Clontech plans to expand the utility of the original systems by combining them with other key core technologies, such as the Living Colors® fluorescent proteins and Lenti-X™ viral expression systems.

About Clontech Laboratories, Inc.

Clontech Laboratories, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takara Bio Inc., develops, manufactures, and distributes a wide range of life science research reagents under the Clontech and Takara brands. Key products include high-performance qPCR and PCR reagents (including the Ex Taq™, LA Taq™, Titanium®, and Advantage® enzymes); RT enzymes and SMART™ library construction kits; the innovative In-Fusion® cloning system; Tet-based inducible gene expression systems; and a range of Macherey-Nagel nucleic acid purification tools. These and other products support applications including gene discovery, regulation, and function; protein expression and purification; RNAi and stem cell studies; and plant and food research. For more information, visit www.clontech.com.

About Takara Bio Inc.

Takara Bio Inc. is an innovative biotechnology company based in Shiga, Japan. As a world leader in biotechnology research and development, Takara Bio was the first company to market PCR technology in Japan and is also the developer of the RetroNectin® reagent, which is used as a world-standard in gene therapy protocols. In addition to providing research reagents and equipment to the life science research market, Takara Bio has active research and product development activities in the fields of gene and cell-based therapy, and agricultural biotechnology; and is committed to preventing disease and improving the quality of life for all people through the use of biotechnology. Through strategic alliances with other industry leaders, the Company aims to extend its reach around the world. More information is available at http://www.takara-bio.com.

About ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

ARIAD's vision is to transform the lives of cancer patients with breakthrough medicines. The Company's mission is to discover, develop and commercialize small-molecule drugs to treat cancer in patients with the greatest and most urgent unmet medical need—aggressive cancers where current therapies are inadequate. ARIAD's product candidate, ridaforolimus, is an investigational mTOR inhibitor being developed by Merck that has successfully completed a Phase 3 clinical trial in patients with soft-tissue and bone sarcomas and is being studied in multiple cancer indications. ARIAD's second internally discovered product candidate, ponatinib, is an investigational pan-BCR-ABL inhibitor in a pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia and Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia. For additional information, please visit www.ariad.com.

SOURCE Clontech Laboratories, Inc.