NittoPhase® HL Loaded up to 400umol/g delivers Market Leading Economies to Reduce Synthesis Costs and Increase Yields

Kinovate Life Sciences, Inc., a California based subsidiary of Nitto Denko Corporation, and the market leader in solid support for oligonucleotide synthesis, will be launching its next generation high loading polymeric solid support product NittoPhase®HL for oligonucleotide synthesis at the TIDES meeting commencing in Boston on April 26th. In thorough testing, NittoPhase®HL loaded at 350umol/g and 250umol/g has shown consistently strong yields and excellent full length purity when utilized for DNA and RNA synthesis respectively. The product will also be commercialized loaded both with succinate and Universal Linker at various levels up to 400umol/g for various applications. Custom loadings included various modified linkers and loading levels will also be available. Kinovate will still continue to sell its market leading original NittoPhase® product. Utilizing the unparalleled polymer synthesis and R&D capabilities of Nitto Denko Corporation, and the worldwide marketing operations of Kinovate Life Sciences, this new product promises to deliver significantly improved technical and economic outcomes for all segments of the oligonucleotide industry.

Solid support is the base structure used in the synthesis of oligonucleotides, including diagnostic probes and primers, antisense including RNAi, microRNA, DNA-based and aptamer drugs and represents a substantial portion of the cost to manufacture these oligonucleotides. The market leading loading capacity of NittoPhase®HL results in significantly improved yields per gram of material with superior purity, allowing users to realize significant cost savings with no compromise in quality. “NittoPhase®HL truly represents a quantum leap in solid support technology for oligonucleotide synthesis. No other support on the market offers these extremely high loadings, together with consistently robust yields and purities. The increase in synthesis scale per gram of support will result in significant reductions in the per micromole costs of oligonucleotide manufacture; not just directly related to the support, but also through the reduction in use of associated solvents and other reagents. Preliminary studies undertaken by an independent third party have shown a reduction in raw materials cost of 40%, equating with a 15% reduction in overall synthesis costs when using NittoPhase®HL.” stated Dr. Kenji Matsumoto, President of Kinovate Life Sciences, Inc. Dr. Matsumoto added, “In particular, NittoPhase®HL represents a major breakthrough in the synthesis of RNAi drugs. Where previously Controlled Porous Glass (CPG) supports were dominant, NittoPhase®HL now offers a compelling alternative to overcome the technical limitations and costs of those products. Following on from the extraordinary success of our original NittoPhase® Solid Support product, which has fast become well established as the market leading solid support in the therapeutic oligonucleotide industry, NittoPhase®HL will cement Kinovate’s position as the market leader in this field.”

ABOUT SOLID SUPPORT

Manufacture of oligonucleotide drugs involves use of solid support matrix upon which chemical reactions occur in a cyclic manner. These reactions are performed on a fully automated synthesizer. At the end of synthesis, drugs are purified by various chromatographic techniques and characterized extensively to check their authenticity and purity. Thus solid support plays a crucial role in the manufacture of oligonucleotide drugs. It is increasingly believed that the yield of full-length oligonucleotide product is greatly influenced by the proper design of a polymeric support which undergoes roughly eighty chemical reactions in about eight hours for a 20-mer oligonucleotide.

NittoPhase® HL Loaded up to 400umol/g delivers Market Leading Economies to Reduce Synthesis Costs and Increase Yields

Kinovate Life Sciences, Inc, the market leader in solid support for oligonucleotide synthesis, will be announcing the successful development of its next generation high loading polymeric solid support product NittoPhase®HL for oligonucleotide synthesis at the TIDES meeting commencing in Las Vegas on May 17th. In thorough testing NittoPhase®HL loaded at 400umol/g and 240umol/g has shown consistently strong yields and excellent full length purity when utilized for DNA and RNA synthesis respectively. The new product is scheduled to be commercially launched in the first half of 2010 at the completion of scaleup test production.

Through utilization of the unparalleled polymer synthesis and R&D capabilities of Nitto Denko Corporation, and the worldwide marketing and customer support operations of Kinovate Life Sciences, this new product promises to deliver potentially significantly improved technical and economic outcomes for all segments of the oligonucleotide industry. Solid support is the base structure used in the synthesis of oligonucleotides, including diagnostic probes and primers, antisense including RNAi, microRNA, DNA-based and aptamer drugs and represents a substantial portion of the cost to manufacture these oligonucleotides. The market leading loading capacity of NittoPhase®HL results in significantly improved yields per gram of material with superior purity, allowing users to realize significant cost savings with no compromise in quality.

“NittoPhase®HL is simply the finest solid support product developed to date. No technology has been able to offer these kinds of high loadings, yields and full length purities. We are extremely excited at the results we have seen in testing to date and expect to be able to deliver this product at a price that will make a significant impact on per micromole costs for our customers. Following on from the extraordinary success of our original NittoPhase® Solid Support product, which has fast become well established as the market leading solid support in the therapeutic oligonucleotide industry, NittoPhase®HL will cement Kinovate’s position as the market leader in this field,” stated Dr. Kenji Matsumoto, President of Kinovate Life Sciences, Inc.

NittoPhase® Offers Manufacturers Ability to Meet Long Term Oligonucleotide Drug Cost Targets

Kinovate Life Sciences, Inc, a provider of tools for oligonucleotide synthesis and gene delivery, announced today that it will officially launch its new NittoPhase® solid support for oligonucleotide synthesis at the TIDES meeting commencing in Boston on May 1st. The joint development of this solid phase support product was announced on November 8th, 2004 by Kinovate’s sole shareholder, Nitto Denko Corporation (Osaka, Japan), a leading multi-national polymer synthesis company and Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISIS), a leader in RNA-based drug discovery and development.

Through utilization of the unparalleled polymer synthesis and R&D capabilities of Nitto Denko Corporation, Isis’ outstanding oligonucleotide synthesis and drug development expertise and the worldwide marketing and customer support operations of Kinovate Life Sciences, this new product promises to deliver significantly improved technical and economic outcomes for all segments of the oligonucleotide industry. Solid support is the base structure used in the synthesis of oligonucleotides, including diagnostic probes and primers, antisense including RNAi, microRNA, DNA-based and aptamer drugs and represents a substantial portion of the cost to manufacture these oligonucleotides.

NittoPhase® has been rigorously tested at both small and large scales, and has been observed to exhibit superior characteristics and performance when compared to other solid supports currently on the market. NittoPhase® has great potential to decrease manufacturing costs due to its significantly lower unit cost, as well as potentially higher yield and full length purity, reducing cost-of-goods.

“Kinovate Life Sciences aims to be a robust partner to both oligonucleotide manufacturers and drug development companies by providing NittoPhase®, a new support with superlative performance at a significantly reduced unit cost. In this way we see considerable potential to make it possible for players of all scales in this industry to meet both long and short term objectives of cost savings, and the eventual development of oligonucleotide drugs that are affordable to patients.” stated Dr. Kenji Matsumoto, President of Kinovate Life Sciences, Inc. “Through our strong collaborative relationship with Isis Pharmaceuticals, we have had access to the very highest standard of technical and analytical resources to ensure that NittoPhase® will deliver unmatched performance.”

“Our internal testing and analysis of NittoPhase® has clearly validated this product in terms of technical and cost performance. As a result of our partnership with Nitto Denko Corporation, Isis is pleased to incorporate NittoPhase® into its own drug development operations going forward” said B. Lynne Parshall, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Isis Pharmaceuticals. “We look forward to participating in the success of NittoPhase®. Our product development partnership with Nitto Denko is another example of how Isis has used its expertise in RNA-based drug discovery and development to work with partners in bringing innovative products to the market.”