Press Releases

Cell Signaling Technology, Inc. Partners with ProQinase GmbH to Expand Drug Discovery Product Line to Kinase Assays and Enzymes

BEVERLY, MA and FREIBURG, Germany - March 22, 2004 - Cell Signaling Technology, Inc (CST) of Beverly, MA announces today that it has entered into a distribution and co-marketing agreement with ProQinase GmbH of Freiburg, Germany. Under this exclusive alliance, CST will distribute the full line of ProQinase purified enzymes (70 kinases currently) on a scale for high-throughput screening and research, as well as in fully configured and validated kinase assays for the drug discovery market. The integration of ProQinase’s high quality enzymes with CST’s premier phospho-specific antibody reagents will create value-added assay systems that will facilitate kinase inhibitor drug discovery, lead optimization and profiling.

There are over five hundred human protein kinases that transduce signals via protein phosphorylation and are critical regulators of innumerable cellular processes. A significant number of kinases have been implicated in human diseases, including cancer, inflammatory, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. This has made protein kinases a major focus for pharmaceutical drug discovery. Successful kinase drug discovery requires validated and optimized reagents for target discovery and validation, high throughput screening (HTS) and therapeutic development. Critical reagents for this effort are high affinity phospho-specific antibodies and active, purified kinase enzymes for HTS drug discovery and lead compound specificity profiling.

“We are excited about joining forces with ProQinase to develop valuable solutions for kinase drug discovery”, said Christopher Bunker, CST’s Director of Business Development. “ProQinase has the reputation for superior kinase products and services that is an ideal fit with Cell Signaling Technology’s expertise and market leadership in phospho-specific antibodies. Our combined high performance reagents will enable research and drug discovery scientists to more rapidly discover and develop important new kinase inhibitors leading to targeted therapeutic treatments for a range of human diseases.”

“Cell Signaling Technology is decidedly the best partner for ProQinase ” added Christoph Sachsenmaier, ProQinase’s Head of Business Development. “We are very excited about this partnership and strongly believe that CST’s renowned expertise in antibody development and ProQinase’s strength in producing large quantities of highly active kinase enzymes will strongly impact the drug discovery and research market. Through this partnership we will be able to serve our customers faster and with a more comprehensive product portfolio”.

Cell Signaling Technology, Inc. (www.cellsignal.com) is a leader in developing and commercializing activation-state-specific antibodies used in basic biomedical research, pharmaceutical drug discovery, and clinical pathology. CST was founded in 1999 by scientists from New England Biolabs and is based in Beverly, MA. CST provides reagents to academic and industry customers direct to U.S. customers and through a global distribution network worldwide.

ProQinase GmbH (www.proqinase.com) is a leader in kinase enzyme production and kinase screening services. ProQinase was founded in 2001 in Freiburg, Germany, and serves customers worldwide. ProQinase also engages in in-house target identification and validation efforts as well as early stage drug discovery projects.

Various statements made within this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “safe harbor” provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements contained herein involve risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations.

For more information, contact:

Christopher Bunker, Ph.D.
Cell Signaling Technology, Inc.
Director of Business Development
phone: (978) 867-2307
e-mail: cbunker@cellsignal.com

Christoph Sachsenmaier, Ph.D.
ProQinase GmbH
Head, Business Development
phone: (49) 761-206-1630
e-mail: c.sachsenmaier@proqinase.com