On May 2009 Curagen was acquired in a stock deal by MA based Celldex Therapeutics, Inc - itself an SBIR involved firm in its own right - with CuraGen Corporation to operate as a subsidiary of Celldex. CuraGen Corporation had traded as NASDAQ: CRGN as a genomics-based pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the lives of patients by developing a pipeline of novel protein, antibody, and small molecule therapeutics in the areas of oncology, inflammatory diseases, and diabetes. CuraGen established broad development alliances with Abgenix, TopoTarget, and Bayer. CuraGen's integrated, functional genomic technologies and Internet-based bioinformatic systems are designed to generate comprehensive information about genes, human genetic variations, gene expression, protein interactions, protein pathways, and potential drugs that affect these pathways. The Company is applying its industrialized genomic technologies, informatics, and validation technologies to develop protein, antibody, and small molecule therapeutics to treat obesity and diabetes, cancer, inflammatory diseases, and central nervous system (CNS) disorders. CuraGen Corporation uses systematic application of genomics to accelerate the discovery and development of therapeutic and agricultural products. CuraGen's fully-integrated genomics technologies, processes and information systems are designed to rapidly generate comprehensive information about gene sequences, gene expression, biological pathways and the potential drugs that affect these pathways, each on a scale not previously undertaken. The Company's drug discovery platform has three primary systems: the SeqCalling system for the generation of coding sequences for expressed genes within a sample, including sequences for rarely expressed and novel genes; the GeneCalling system for comprehensive gene expression analysis and gene discovery; and the PathCalling system for discovery of the roles of genes and the proteins they encode in biological pathways. The company focuses on the development of CR011-vcMMAE, a Phase II clinical trail drug for the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma and breast cancer. It has strategic collaborations with Amgen Fremont to develop fully-human monoclonal antibody therapeutics; and Seattle Genetics, Inc. to license Seattle Genetics’ proprietary antibody- drug conjugate technology.
