AVEO Pharmaceuticals to Utilize Peptech's Breakthrough Technology to 'Humanise' Internal Drug Candidates
October 2, 2007, Sydney, Australia and Cambridge, MA - Peptech Limited (ASX:
PTD) and AVEO Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced they have entered into a
non-exclusive research and commercialisation agreement in which AVEO will access
Peptech's SuperhumanisationTM technology to humanise internally-derived drug
candidates.
The SuperhumanisationTM technology allows for modifying antibodies generated in
animals so that they retain their essential therapeutic properties but appear '
human-like' or 'humanised' and will therefore not be rejected by the immune
system of patients receiving them. Antibodies are the fastest growing class of
drugs, with major product successes driving a continued high level of interest
in this sector from the pharmaceutical industry worldwide.
Under the terms of the agreement, AVEO will provide Peptech an upfront payment
for access to Peptech's intellectual property and know-how surrounding the
Peptech's SuperhumanisationTM methodology for humanising antibodies. AVEO will
utilise the technology in-house and will be responsible for future clinical
development and commercialisation of any products made using the technology.
Peptech will receive annual license fees and payments upon successful
achievement of preclinical and clinical milestones as well as royalties on sales
of any products resulting from the collaboration. Additional financial terms
were not disclosed.
This is the first commercial deal Peptech (through its wholly-owned subsidiary,
EvoGenix) has signed for its SuperhumanisationTM technology which it obtained
through its merger with EvoGenix in August this year, with negotiations on the
deal starting prior to the merger. EvoGenix has ongoing platform technology
partnerships with GlaxoSmithKline, CSL Limited and Vegenics Limited.
'AVEO Pharmaceuticals is an exciting company with a growing pipeline of
innovative cancer products. We are delighted to be working with them to a common
goal of advancing better therapeutic products to market,' said John Chiplin, CEO
of Peptech. 'The fact that AVEO has chosen to license our SuperhumanisationTM
technology, a proprietary offering that is fast becoming the benchmark for
humanisation undertakings further validates our approach to creating a globally
competitive antibody engineering platform.'
Tuan Ha-Ngoc, AVEO's President and CEO, stated, 'Licensing this technology from
Peptech augments our internal discovery capabilities and further illustrates
AVEO's commitment to maximising our antibody drug discovery and development
platform. We will continue to identify technology opportunities to drive our
portfolio of internally discovered drug candidates while leveraging our
proprietary in vivo cancer models to direct the clinical development and
ultimately realise the commercial potential of both our internally discovered
and in-licensed pipeline of cancer drugs.'
About Peptech:
Peptech Limited is one of the Australia's largest bio-pharmaceutical companies
listed on the ASX. Peptech recently merged with EvoGenix to become a leading
player in the antibody therapeutics market; a market that is expected to treble
in size by 2010.
The Company is focused on developing and providing antibody and protein-based
human therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory
diseases.
Peptech's value lies in its revenue generating platform technologies,
diversified therapeutic products and ability to accelerate development
opportunities with its strong cash position.
Peptech's lead compound, PN0621, a differentiated anti-TNF domain antibody
construct, is currently in Phase I development for the treatment of rheumatoid
arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.
For further information: www.peptech.com
Through its acquisition of EvoGenix, Peptech offers a novel proprietary
technology platform to facilitate the development of antibodies and other
protein therapeutics of high potency and suitable for long term administration
to patients.
The technology operates in two stages:
SuperhumanisationTM, a superior approach for modifying antibodies generated in
animals so that they retain their essential therapeutic properties but appear '
human-like' or 'humanised' and therefore not be rejected by the immune system of
patients receiving them. In conventional humanisation the starting antibody is
matched on the basis of sequence homology to a human framework. In contrast,
with SuperhumanisationTM the frameworks are chosen on the basis of matched
canonical structure, resulting in products that are less immunogenic, yet better
retain the properties of the starting antibody.
EvoGeneTM Optimisation, a highly efficient, novel process for fine-tuning
antibodies and other proteins to increase their activity or specificity. The
process involves making billions of copies of the protein, each with one or two
small changes compared with the original. The copies are then tested to find
those with improved properties, for example more powerful attachment to a target
to improve potency, or more effective cancer cell killing.
For further information: www.evogenix.com
About AVEO
AVEO is a private biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and
development of novel, targeted cancer therapeutics. The company utilizes its
proprietary, genetically-defined cancer models for the identification and
validation of novel cancer targets, and has begun to build an impressive
portfolio of drug discovery and development programs around these high-value
targets. AVEO also uses its Human Response PredictionTM Platform to identify
genetic profiles that correspond with patient responsiveness. AVEO expects to
commence Phase 2 clinical studies in the second half of 2007 for AV-951, its
oral, second-generation VEGF receptor inhibitor and most advanced clinical
program. AV-412, AVEO's EGFR/HER2 inhibitor, is currently in Phase 1 clinical
trials. AV-299, a novel anti-HGF mAb partnered with Schering-Plough
Corporation, is expected to enter the clinic in early 2008.
AVEO is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit
the company's website at
www.aveopharma.com |
