Under the Arius collaboration BioMedica will identify the cognate antigens for H460-16-2 and ARH460-22-1, two of the 50 Arius antibodies that are the subject of the BioMedica/Arius collaboration
Oxford BioMedica announced in October 2002 that the research and development collaboration with Arius Research (Canada), which began on 25 July 2002 to search for targets and develop novel products to treat cancer, has attracted a development partner, Protein Design Labs (PDL) for two of the antibodies.
PDL, located in Freemont, California, is a leading player in the development of humanized monoclonal antibodies for the prevention and treatment of disease.
Under the Arius collaboration BioMedica will identify the cognate antigens for H460-16-2 and ARH460-22-1, two of the 50 Arius antibodies that are the subject of the BioMedica/Arius collaboration.
PDL has the option to humanise, develop and market the two antibodies.
Arius would receive, should PDL exercise its option to license the antibodies, licensing fees and milestone payments, contingent upon future development outcomes.
BioMedica would be entitled to a percentage royalty on any income from the PDL deal.
The collaboration between BioMedica and Arius is designed to provide a pipeline of cancer immunotherapy products that will be marketed jointly to the industry.
This new agreement with PDL is the first to arise form these efforts.
Arius initially presented favourable pre-clinical results for ARH460-22-1 and ARH460-16-2 in July 2002 at a meeting of the International Union against Cancer in Oslo, Norway.
This agreement represents significant external validation of Arius's technology for developing anti-cancer antibodies and highlights the immediate value of the collaborative programme between BioMedica and Arius.
Commenting on the collaboration, BioMedica's chief executive, Alan Kingsman said: "The PDL agreement comes less than three months after ARIUS announced a separate joint venture agreement with BioMedica.
"This deal confirms the value of our collaboration with Arius and we hope that more deals are to follow in the future".
Commenting on the collaboration Arius's chief executive, David Young said: "These agreements illustrate the opportunities and value in our library and approach to partnering".
"Partnering with BioMedica gives both companies new opportunities through rapid target identification and PDL will help realise the potential from the antibody and its target through their strength in drug development."
