IDM and Pierre Fabre Enter Into a Partnership on DC Maturation
PARIS, St. Julien and Castres, France, June 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Immuno-Designed Molecules, SA (IDM), a leading European biopharmaceutical company in the field of cell immunotherapy, announces today that it has reached an exclusive world-wide agreement with Pierre-Fabre Medicament (PFM) and Institut de Recherche Pierre Fabre (IRPF), a leading French pharmaceutical company, through its CIPF immunology research center, based in Saint Julien en Genevois.
Under this agreement, PFM will provide IDM access to its line of bacterial membrane based compounds, developed by CIPF, to be used as maturation agents in IDM's Dendritophage(r)-based line of Cell Drugs(TM). IDM will have an exclusive option on the first of these compounds, called FMPK, for defined indications in oncology. In return, IDM will make certain milestone payments to PFM and PFM will supply clinical grade and GMP material to IDM as required by the development program of IDM Cell Drugs. IDM also benefits from a first refusal option on future compounds developed by CIPF presenting a synergy when combined with IDM's Cell Drugs. The first Cell Drug to benefit from FMPK as a maturation agent is Uvidem(TM), currently in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of melanoma and developed in partnership with Sanofi-Synthelabo.
Jean-Loup Romet-Lemonne, President and CEO of IDM, stated, "We have had a close relationship with PFM's Immunology Research Center for a long time. This agreement will offer IDM a major competitive advantage against other companies specialized in the same field of research."
Christophe Jean, President and CEO of PFM added: "This partnership with IDM offers our research developments new opportunities to be used in the most innovative approach in the treatment of cancer. IDM's scientific and medical strategy complements our own areas of research and opens up the opportunity for a fruitful partnership."
About IDM
IDM is a leading European biopharmaceutical company developing a new family of immunotherapy products called Cell Drugs(TM) to fight cancer and other life-threatening diseases. IDM applies its proprietary technologies to selectively isolate, engineer and activate specific cell populations which are involved in therapeutic vaccination. The Company's products are designed to boost the immune system, destroy residual tumor cells, and immunize patients to prevent tumor recurrence. IDM's most advanced product is in a Phase III clinical trial for ovarian cancer, four products are in Phase II trials, one is in Phase I/II and nine products are in pre-clinical testing. For more information, please visit IDM's Web site, idm-biotech.com
About Pierre Fabre Laboratory
The Immunology Research Center Pierre Fabre is one of Laboratoires Pierre Fabre's three medical research centers. Present in ethical medical drugs, in family health, dermo-cosmetics, phytotherapy, homeopathy, Laboratoires Pierre Fabre, the second largest French pharmaceutical laboratory, had a turn over amounting to euros 1250 M in 2001. |
