Life Technologies Signs Licensing Agreement with Suzhou Ribo Life Sciences for Development of siRNA Therapeutics in China

CARLSBAD, Calif., June 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) today announces a licensing agreement granting Suzhou Ribo Life Sciences (Ribo) the exclusive rights to develop and manufacture siRNA therapeutics in China using Life's Invivofectamine® Rx delivery technology.  Ribo will formulate proprietary siRNA molecules in combination with Invivofectamine® Rx to create a new platform designed to address human diseases with high unmet medical need in the Chinese healthcare system.

Under the agreement, Ribo will receive a license to develop a robust pipeline of Invivofectamine® Rx-based therapeutics, for each of which Life Technologies is entitled to receive milestone and royalty payments.

Currently available only through Life Technologies' out-licensing program ([email protected]), Invivofectamine Rx marks a significant advancement in the company's in vivo transfection product line. The novel formulation uses a proprietary chemical structure to dramatically increase the potency 100-fold and decrease the toxicity of the formulated RNAi compound. The increased therapeutic window makes the solution particularly well-suited for use in in vivo applications.

"We are extremely pleased to announce this partnership with Life Technologies," said Zicai Liang, Ph.D., chief executive officer and founder of Ribo and the Kunshan RNAi Institute. "Adding Life's Invivofectamine Rx formulation technology into our development efforts will significantly increase our ability to bring new siRNA therapeutics to Chinese patients with unmet medical needs. We look forward to bringing our first Invivofectamine Rx-based program targeting Hepatitis-B into the clinic in a relatively short period of time."

The Chinese government has identified siRNA therapeutics as one of the few critical emerging technologies in which it wants to have a dominant presence. To help meet this objective, the government is nearing completion on the construction of a new, 400,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility in Kunshan, China for Ribo Life Sciences and the Kunshan Institute of siRNA.

"Dr. Liang is a premier siRNA expert in China and his Kunshan RNAi Institute is recognized as one of the world's leading consortiums of academic, industry and government efforts in the world to advance siRNA technology," said Alan Sachs, M.D., Ph.D., chief scientific officer and head of global research at Life Technologies. "In our continued effort to deliver game-changing products and technologies to the world's top medical researchers, we are pleased to partner with Dr. Liang and Suzhou Ribo Life Sciences. Invivofectamine Rx is a great example of the type of technology we will continue to license around the world as we expand our commitment to clinical research customers."

About Suzhou Ribo Life Sciences 

Suzhou Ribo Life Sciences Co. Ltd. (Ribo) was founded in 2007 and is located in Kunshan, China. Ribo is devoted to the development of nucleic acid drugs and other related products based on RNA interference (RNAi) technology. The company was founded by Dr. Zicai Liang to partner with the Kunshan Institute of siRNA in an effort to clinically advance RNAi therapeutics in China. With China's biggest team of scientists and staff focused solely on RNAi research and development, Ribo and its Kunshan RNAi Institute partnership represents one of the world's leading efforts to develop RNAi therapeutics.

About Life Technologies 

Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) is a global biotechnology company that is committed to providing the most innovative products and services to leading customers in the fields of scientific research, genetic analysis and applied sciences. With a presence in more than 180 countries, the company's portfolio of 50,000 end-to-end solutions is secured by more than 5,000 patents and licenses that span the entire biological spectrum -- scientific exploration, molecular diagnostics, 21^st century forensics, regenerative medicine and agricultural research. Life Technologies has approximately 10,000 employees and had sales of $3.8 billion in 2012.

Life Technologies' Safe Harbor Statement

This press release includes forward-looking statements about our anticipated results that involve risks and uncertainties. Some of the information contained in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements as to industry trends and Life Technologies' plans, objectives, expectations and strategy for its business, contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. When used, the words "believe," "plan," "intend," "anticipate," "target," "estimate," "expect" and the like, and/or future tense or conditional constructions ("will," "may," "could," "should," etc.), or similar expressions, identify certain of these forward-looking statements. Important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are detailed in filings made by Life Technologies with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Life Technologies undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

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Life Technologies Contact
Mauricio Minotta
760-929-2456
[email protected]

Suzhou Ribo Life Sciences Contact
Hongyan Zhang
0086-139-11628758 
[email protected]

SOURCE Life Technologies Corporation