================================================================================
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT
TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): June 8, 2005
SANGAMO BIOSCIENCES, INC.
------------------------------------------------------
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
Delaware
----------------------------------------------
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)
000-30171 68-0359556
------------------------ ---------------------------------
(Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.)
501 Canal Blvd, Suite A100 Richmond, California 94804
- ---------------------------------------- --------------------------
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
(510) 970-6000
----------------------------------------------------
(Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
-------------------------------------------------------------
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to
simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the
following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
[ ] Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities
Act (17 CFR 230.425)
[ ] Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange
Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the
Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the
Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
================================================================================
ITEM 8.01 OTHER EVENTS
On June 8, 2005, Sangamo BioSciences Inc. issued a press release announcing
that data from its programs to optimize and enhance cell lines for protein
pharmaceutical production will be presented at the 19th Meeting of the European
Society for Animal Cell Technology (ESACT): Cell Technology for Cell Products.
A copy of the press release issued by Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. relating to this
event is filed as an exhibit to this Current Report on Form 8-K.
ITEM 9.01 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS
(c) Exhibits. The following material is filed as an exhibit to this Current
Report on Form 8-K:
Exhibit No.
- -----------
99.1 Press Release Issued June 8, 2005.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
DATE: June 8, 2005
SANGAMO BIOSCIENCES, INC.
By: /s/ EDWARD O. LANPHIER II
----------------------------------
Edward O. Lanphier II
President, Chief Executive Officer
Exhibit 99.1
SANGAMO BIOSCIENCES ANNOUNCES PRESENTATION OF DATA FROM PROTEIN PRODUCTION
PROGRAM AT 19TH MEETING OF THE EUROPEAN SOCIETY FOR ANIMAL CELL TECHNOLOGY
RICHMOND, Calif., June 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sangamo BioSciences, Inc.
(Nasdaq: SGMO) today announced that data from its programs to optimize and
enhance cell lines for protein pharmaceutical production will be presented at
the 19th Meeting of the European Society for Animal Cell Technology (ESACT):
Cell Technology for Cell Products, held in Harrogate, U.K. June 5-8, 2005. The
data describe the use of Sangamo's zinc finger DNA-binding protein (ZFP)
technology in several applications that address the ability to rapidly generate
stable, high-level expression of biopharmaceutical proteins from mammalian
production systems.
"Prime issues for biologics manufacturing are capacity of production and
speed of development of protein drugs," said Edward Lanphier, Sangamo's
president and CEO. "Companies that produce monoclonal antibodies and recombinant
protein pharmaceuticals are very interested in technologies that make it easier
to engineer cell lines with characteristics that improve protein production
yields and also reduce the time required to generate recombinant producer lines.
We are developing our ZFP technology to address these issues and have seen
significant interest from the industry for both our CHOZn(TM) cell line and our
ZFN-mediated cell engineering technology. We currently have agreements with
several biopharmaceutical companies and expect to announce additional
collaborations later this year."
Sangamo scientists have engineered the CHOZn(TM) cell line by integrating a
novel engineered ZFP transcription factor (ZFP TF(TM)) into a CHO cell line
commonly used in biopharmaceutical production. The CHOZn(TM) line has been shown
to produce up to four-fold higher levels of protein output than the commonly
used parental cell line and can be used with a variety of different promoter
systems, making it readily adaptable to a company's specific production system.
The engineered cell line is being made available to drug development and
manufacturing organizations for testing and licensing. Dr. Trevor Collingwood,
Team Leader of Enabling Technology at Sangamo will present data generated by
Sangamo scientists and their collaborators at Medarex, Inc. on the successful
use of the system at the fermentor scale for the increased production of
monoclonal antibodies.
Sangamo's targeted ZFP-nuclease (ZFN(TM)) technology can also be applied to
the rapid production of stable producer cell lines and the elimination of
"unfavorable cell traits" that reduce the yield or bioactivity of pharmaceutical
proteins. As Dr. Collingwood will discuss, a frequent problem in cell line
development is that lines gradually lose the ability to continuously produce
high levels of product due to the insertion of the transgene of interest into an
unstable genomic location. Sangamo is using its ZFN technology to specifically
target the insertion of protein-producing sequences into identified genomic
"hot-spots," or "safe harbor locations," to enable the rapid and reproducible
generation of stable, high-expressing production cell lines. Sangamo's
technology can also be used to quickly and selectively knock out specific genes
in cell lines. This newly developed capability can be used to generate improved
cell line characteristics, resulting in further increases in protein output or
increased biological activity of the protein product.
About Sangamo
Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. is focused on the research and development of
novel DNA-binding proteins for therapeutic gene regulation and modification. The
most advanced ZFP Therapeutic(TM) development programs are currently in Phase I
clinical trials for evaluation of safety in patients with peripheral artery
disease and diabetic neuropathy. Other therapeutic development programs are
focused on ischemic heart disease, congestive heart failure, cancer, neuropathic
pain, and infectious and monogenic diseases. Sangamo's core competencies enable
the engineering of a class of DNA-binding proteins known as zinc finger
DNA-binding proteins (ZFPs). By engineering ZFPs that recognize a specific DNA
sequence Sangamo has created ZFP transcription factors (ZFP TF(TM)) that can
control gene expression and, consequently, cell function. Sangamo is also
developing sequence-specific ZFP Nucleases (ZFNs) for therapeutic gene
modification as a treatment and possible cure for a variety of monogenic
diseases, such as sickle cell anemia, and for infectious diseases such as HIV.
For more information about Sangamo, visit the company's web site at
www.sangamo.com or www.expressinglife.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on Sangamo's
current expectations. These forward-looking statements include, without
limitation, references to the research and development of novel ZFP TFs and
ZFNs, clinical trials and therapeutic applications of Sangamo's ZFP technology
platform. Actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking
statements due to a number of factors, including technological challenges,
Sangamo's ability to develop commercially viable products and technological
developments by our competitors. See the company's SEC filings, and in
particular, the risk factors described in the company's Annual Report on Form
10-K and its most recent 10-Q. Sangamo assumes no obligation to update the
forward-looking information contained in this press release.
SOURCE Sangamo BioSciences, Inc.
-0- 06/08/2005
/CONTACT: Elizabeth Wolffe, Ph.D. of Sangamo BioSciences, Inc.,
+1-510-970-6000, ext. 271, or ewolffe@sangamo.com; or investors,
John Cummings, +1-415-352-6262, or media, Justin Jackson, +1-212-213-0006, or
jjackson@burnsmc.com, both of Burns McClellan, Inc., for Sangamo BioSciences,
Inc./
/Web site: http://www.sangamo.com /