September 8, 2000

Genomics revolution fuels growth for Array BioPharma

BOULDER – With words like crystallography and genomic common to its vocabulary, what Array BioPharma Inc. does can be a little difficult to understand. But one thing that’s easy to understand about Array is its growth.

Soon after the Boulder-based company celebrated its second birthday this summer, it surpassed the 100-employee mark. When it started, the Array was home to only four.

Now with all those scientists and researchers taking their places in the lab, the company is taking its place as one of the state’s five largest biotechnology firms.

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Array provides products and services that accelerate the discovery of drugs. Array scientists use chemistry to find compounds that can treat diseases. Researchers work to stop unwanted side effects, pinpoint dosages and figure out which pills or injections work better.

So just what is the catalyst for Array’s growth? Two words: demand and genomics. “We are seeing a lot of demand for our drug discovery products and services that’s being fueled by the genomics revolution,´ said Bob Conway, chief executive officer of Array.

The demand spurred by the genomics revolution has garnered the attention of many venture capitalists. Last year, Array received $8 million in venture capital.

One venture capitalist in Boulder is particularly enamored with Array. “Array has everything a venture capitalist looks for – world-class scientists, a fantastic management team, solid health-care investors and a great customer list,´ said Kyle Lefkoff, a partner at Boulder Ventures. “Array is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the opportunities arising in this area of the marketplace.”

Other venture capital firms behind Array are Advent International, Mitsui and Co., Falcon Technology Partners, Arch Venture Partners and Frazier and Co.

The funding Array received last year is being used to finance a major expansion north to Longmont that will double the company’s lab space to 50,000 square feet – plenty of elbow room and a “unique research environment” for all those new scientists, according to Conway.

And the growth is just getting started. By 2003, Array hopes to double the number of scientists and more than double the square footage or its labs.

Array, which plans to keep its headquarters in Boulder, says the space is needed to accommodate collaborations with the some of the industry’s top companies. Over the past several months, Array has announced agreements with Eli Lilly and Co., Celltech Chiroscience, Neurocrine and Tularik.

And just last month Array announced an expanded collaboration with ICOS, a drug development leader. ICOS will provide Array with financial backing to develop and sell products resulting from the agreement. Array and ICOS have been working together since last year.

Kevin Koch, chief science officer at Array, said he’s enthusiastic about the company’s relationship with ICOS because it is one of the first companies to initiate a drug discovery program with Array. “ICOS is taking full advantage of our process for rapidly creating quality development candidates. We believe this collaboration is a validation of Array’s approach of accelerating drug discovery through innovations in chemistry,” Kock said.

Array’s collaboration and Tularik Inc., a firm that develops oral drugs, is expected to produce a library of information that could lead to widespread screening uses. Following a period of exclusivity with Tularik, Array has the right to offer compounds in the library to third parties.

BOULDER – With words like crystallography and genomic common to its vocabulary, what Array BioPharma Inc. does can be a little difficult to understand. But one thing that’s easy to understand about Array is its growth.

Soon after the Boulder-based company celebrated its second birthday this summer, it surpassed the 100-employee mark. When it started, the Array was home to only four.

Now with all those scientists and researchers taking their places in the lab, the company is taking its place as one of the state’s five largest biotechnology firms.

Array provides products and services that accelerate the discovery of drugs.…

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