IDM Acquires Assets from the American Company Jenner
Wednesday April 9, 3:22 am ET
PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 9, 2003--IDM Immuno-Designed Molecules, a biopharmaceutical company, specialized in cellular immunotherapy, announces today that it has acquired certain assets from Jenner Biotherapies, an American biotechnology company based in Wisconsin.
These assets include the exclusive rights that Jenner acquired from Eli Lilly and Company concerning the recombinant KSA antigen, better known as EP-CAM. This antigen is expressed in a large number of cancers. An anti-KSA therapeutic vaccine may have an extensive field of therapeutic applications. It will initially be developed by IDM in association with Dendritophages® (IDM dendritic cells) for the treatment for prostate cancer.
IDM also acquired from Jenner other antigens in liposome form, as well as the rights to use PSA antigen in the treatment of prostate cancer.
In addition, IDM acquired the rights for immunopotentiators (molecules that stimulate the immune system) which Jenner had obtained from Novartis. The immunopotentiator, MEPACT, was developed by Jenner for the treatment of osteosarcoma, a serious bone cancer affecting children and adolescents. This product received orphan drug status from the FDA, and IDM plans to continue its development in order to help identify therapeutic options for this unsatisfied medical need.
Jenner's assets were acquired with IDM shares. Jean-Loup Romet-Lemonne, President and CEO of IDM, notes: "The technologies, products and licenses obtained in this transaction augment our ability to develop new products for immunotherapy against cancer. I am especially satisfied that this acquisition took place in exchange for IDM shares, thereby preserving our financial reserves." |
