GPC Biotech AG has achieved a milestone in its osteoarthritis alliance with Aventis Pharma. Aventis Pharma has selected a validated target, which will be moved into high-throughput screening by Aventis Pharma to identify compounds for the treatment of osteoarthritis. GPC Biotech identified this target together with a number of other potential targets using its integrated technology platform. The milestone triggers an undisclosed payment from Aventis Pharma to GPC Biotech.

"Achieving this milestone for Aventis Pharma again demonstrates the power of GPC Biotech's integrated technology platform in supporting our pharmaceutical partners' research. Work will continue on other identified genes and proteins with the aim of providing further targets and whole pathways to Aventis for their osteoarthritis program," said Sebastian Meier-Ewert, Senior Vice President Research at GPC Biotech.

The three year research alliance with Aventis Pharma, announced in 1999, aims to identify and validate novel drug targets and their biochemical pathways in the field of osteoarthritis.

GPC Biotech is applying its integrated genomics and proteomics technologies to identify such targets. The research alliance between Aventis Pharma and GPC Biotech is part of the project "Diagnosis and therapy of Osteoarthritis using Methods of Molecular Medicine" supported in context of the 'Leitprojekt' initiative by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Science (BMBF).

The goal of the Osteoarthritis-Leitprojekt is to identify genes and proteins as a basis for the development of new, more potent drugs and prognostic markers for the treatment of osteoarthritis. GPC Biotech is eligible for pre-clinical and clinical milestone payments as well as royalties on product sales resulting from validated targets selected by Aventis Pharma from the collaboration with GPC Biotech. Certain rights to use targets discovered within the research alliance for diagnostic purposes remain with GPC Biotech.

Osteoarthritis is the most common rheumatic disease. It is a slowly progressing, mainly non-inflammatory degenerative disease of cartilage and other tissues of the joint. It involves hip, knee, finger and other joints leading to loss of function and pain. Osteoarthritis is the leading indication for prosthetic hip and knee replacement surgery. Frequently leading to serious disability, the disorder affects more than 200 million people worldwide. Analgesics and physical therapies reduce pain, but apart from surgical joint replacement, no effective treatment is currently available.