Licence agreements
Dutch biotechnology company Crucell signed a licence agreement with Korean-based ISU ABXIS over STAR, a technology used for the production of recombinant human antibodies and proteins. This deal covers the research and development of the technology and includes an option for a commercial licence.
Compugen Ltd will collaborate with Merck & Co on predicting peptides likely to activate selected G-protein coupled receptors. The agreement gives Merck an option for exclusive worldwide licences for the peptides and will cover the development and commercialization of therapeutic products.
Regenetech Inc, which deals with tissue regeneration of adult stem cells, said on January 14 that it will sign a licence covering the Republic of Korea for its proprietary stem cell expansion technology, cellXpansion, with Korea Stem Cell Bank.
In mid-December GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Santaris Pharma will work together on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel medicines against viral diseases. This will provide GSK with access to patented RNA antagonist compounds, based on Santaris Pharma's locked nucleic acid technology.
Pfizer Inc and Scil Technology have finalized an agreement for worldwide collaboration on Scil's cartilage specific growth factor CD-RAP giving Pfizer the global exclusive licence to develop and commercialize the product. Scil will now be eligible for upfront and milestone payments of $250 million.
Wyeth has taken a global licence to develop, manufacture and sell a painkiller from Mochida Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, a Japanese pharmaceutical company. Mochida will receive an upfront payment as well as royalties on sales by Wyeth. Mochida will also retain the option to co-develop and co-market this drug with Wyeth in Japan.
M&A
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation which creates products and technologies to treat advanced cardiovascular diseases has agreed to sell its assets related to its LifeStent product line to CR Bard.
Avista Capital Partners, a leading private equity firm, bought Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging, a business unit of Bristol-Myers Squibb, on January 8. JP Morgan Securities Inc acted as the financial adviser for Bristol-Myers Squibb and Cravath, Swaine & Moore served as its legal counsel. Weil, Gotshal & Manges represented Avista Capital as legal counsel.
Patent news
On January 16, Dendreon Corporation said it has been granted a European patent covering the company's lead product Provenge, a therapy for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. European patent 0 870 022 B1 covers methods of activating antigen presenting cells in vitro with certain fusion proteins developed by Dendreon. Mitchell Gold, president and chief executive officer of Dendreon, said: "While our priority is to obtain the approval of Provenge in the United States, the issuance of this key patent solidifies the commercial potential of Provenge and our ACI platform on a more international basis."
The US Patent and Trademark Office has issued its first communication to Pfizer in the re-examination of the '893 basic patent for Lipitor, initially rejecting the patent's claims. "We will respond as appropriate to the issues raised by the examiner, and believe we have compelling arguments in our favor," said Pfizer general counsel Allen Waxman. "We continue to believe that the basic patent was properly granted and will be upheld on re-examination. This initial action, which was not unexpected, does not change that." The patent however remains valid and enforceable throughout the re-examination proceedings.
Kinetic Concepts Inc (KCI) together with Wake Forest University Health Sciences, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Innovative Therapies claiming that three of its patents are infringed by a negative pressure wound therapy device. The case will take place in the US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The patents originally belonged to Wake Forest and were licensed to KCI.
