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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
February 1, 2000
(Date of earliest event reported)
HYSEQ, INC.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Nevada 0-22873 36-3855489
(State of (Commission File No.) (IRS Employer
Incorporation) Identification No.)
670 Almanor Avenue
Sunnyvale, California 94086
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
(408) 524-8100
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
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Item 5. Other Events.
Hyseq, Inc. announced on Tuesday, February 1, 2000 that George B. Rathmann has
been appointed Chairman of the Board and a Class III director. Robert D.
Weist has been appointed Vice Chairman and will continue as a Class I
director.
For further information, see the press release of Hyseq, Inc., dated February
2, 2000, attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1.
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SIGNATURE
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.
HYSEQ, INC.
/s/ Lewis S. Gruber
----------------------------
Name: Lewis S. Gruber
Title: President and Chief
Executive Officer
Date: February 3, 2000
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EXHIBIT INDEX
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99.1 Press Release, dated February 2, 2000 5
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EXHIBIT 99.1
Tuesday February 2, 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time
SOURCE: Hyseq, Inc.
Company Press Release
DR. GEORGE B. RATHMANN JOINS HYSEQ AS CHAIRMAN
Biotechnology Industry Pioneer
and Leader Previously was Chairman of Amgen and ICOS
SUNNYVALE, Calif., February 2, 2000 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyseq, Inc. (Nasdaq:
HYSQ) announced today that Dr. George B. Rathmann has joined Hyseq as
Chairman. Dr. Rathmann has been a leading figure in biotechnology for over
20 years, as co-founder and Chairman of Amgen, Inc., and more recently of
ICOS Corporation. Robert D. Weist, who has served as Chairman of Hyseq since
1994, becomes Vice Chairman.
"I have had the good fortune to be part of the biotechnology industry since
its inception," said Dr. Rathmann. "Genomics now is providing an
unprecedented wealth of opportunities for new drugs. Hyseq is building a
highly promising biopharmaceutical pipeline, using genomics as a foundation.
I have had a longstanding interest in the company and I look forward to
helping Hyseq realize the potential in its products and technology," said Dr.
Rathmann.
"This is an excellent opportunity for the company and I am looking forward to
being part of it," said Robert D. Weist, former Chairman of Hyseq's Board,
and now Vice Chairman. "George's experience, energy and enthusiasm, will add
significant value to the company. As a mentor, George has no peers," said Mr.
Weist.
"George brings to Hyseq extraordinary experience and a singular record of
success at an important juncture," said Lewis S. Gruber, Hyseq's President
and Chief Executive Officer. "The first product candidates from our genomics
platform are now in preclinical development and we are well positioned to
realize additional value from our genomics data," said Mr. Gruber.
Hyseq is conducting preclinical studies on its IL-1Hy1 as a possible
anti-inflammatory product candidate for treating inflammatory disease, such
as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. Hyseq also is
conducting preclinical studies on its CD39L4 as a possible product candidate
for preventing or treating blood vessel blockage that can cause
cardiovascular disease, such as heart attacks and strokes. Hyseq has
identified over 35,000 genes containing either secretory signal peptide
segments or having significant homology to known genes, more than 5,000 of
which have been completely sequenced. For its internal use, Hyseq has
analyzed over 12 million human DNA samples, resulting in the filing of patent
applications on over 900,000 partial and full gene sequences. These gene
discoveries are the foundation of Hyseq's biopharmaceutical pipeline.
Dr. Rathmann was a founder of ICOS Corporation in 1990 and served as Chairman
of the Board until January 2000. While at ICOS, he also served as its Chief
Executive Officer and President from September 1991 until June 1999. Prior to
ICOS, Dr. Rathmann co-founded Amgen, Inc. in 1980, where he served as a
Director until 1993. At Amgen, Dr. Rathmann also served as Chairman of the
Board, Chief Executive Officer and President at various times.
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Hyseq is developing new biopharmaceutical product candidates to treat acute
and chronic conditions in the immunology, hemopoietic and cardiovascular
areas. Hyseq uses its high-throughput proprietary technology for discovering
and developing therapeutic product candidates and for pharmacogenomic and
polymorphism analysis. Hyseq has collaborations for gene discovery and for
commercializing its HyChip(TM) biochip. Information about Hyseq is available
at www.hyseq.com or by phoning 408-524-8100. Hyseq's wholly-owned subsidiary,
GeneSolutions Inc., offers genomic resources to pharmaceutical and biomedical
researchers on the Internet at www.genesolutions.com.
Statements included in this press release which are not historical in nature,
are intended to be, and are hereby identified as "forward-looking statements"
for purposes of the safe harbor provided by the Private Securities Litigation
Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including
"anticipate," "believe" "intends," "estimates," "expect" and similar
expressions. The Company cautions readers that forward-looking statements,
including without limitation, those relating to the Company's future business
prospects are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the
forward-looking statements. For a discussion of factors that may cause
results to differ, see the Company's reports filed with the SEC, including
its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998. Hyseq
disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking
statements.
