Additional Cancer Targets Delivered by Exelixis to Protein Design Labs
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL - news) has delivered five additional cancer antibody targets to Protein Design Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: PDLI - news; PDL) in the companies' ongoing oncology collaboration.
The collaboration, signed in May 2001, utilizes Exelixis' expertise in target identification and validation to discover novel antibody targets, and PDL's proficiency in antibody clinical development and manufacturing to create humanized antibodies for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cancer. The targets delivered to and accepted by PDL have met a number of stringent criteria that Exelixis applies to all of its targets prior to initiating drug discovery. Each of the targets has been shown to modulate a cancer-related cell growth pathway in a model organism, has been analyzed for expression in a variety of normal and tumor tissues and has met defined intellectual property criteria. Exelixis has the right to co-fund and co-develop antibodies resulting from the collaboration. For antibody products developed by PDL that Exelixis elects not to co-develop, Exelixis will be entitled to specified milestone payments and royalty payments on any product sales.
``The rapid progress that has been achieved in this collaboration in just a six-month span demonstrates Exelixis' ability to deliver unique candidates to partners by utilizing our capabilities in both model system genetics and mammalian cell biology,'' stated George A. Scangos, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Exelixis. ``These targets, many of which represent new classes of proteins not previously targeted for cancer, could provide new antibodies that will inhibit tumor growth for PDL's oncology pipeline. We are confident that our partner PDL will rapidly advance antibodies against these targets, which may represent new avenues for the treatment of cancer.''
Exelixis, Inc. is a leading genomics-based drug discovery company focused on product development through its expertise in comparative genomics and model system genetics. These technologies provide a rapid, efficient and cost effective way to move from DNA sequence data to knowledge about the function of genes and the proteins they encode. The company's technology is broadly applicable to all life sciences industries including pharmaceutical, diagnostic, agricultural biotechnology and animal health. Exelixis has partnerships with Aventis CropScience S.A., Bayer Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Pharmacia Corporation, Protein Design Labs, Inc., Scios, Inc. and Dow AgroSciences LLC, and is building its internal development program in the area of oncology. For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.exelixis.com |
