AVANIR Subsidiary Xenerex Biosciences and Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Announce Research Collaboration for Solid Tumor Cancer Antibody Therapeutics
SAN DIEGO, June 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Xenerex Biosciences, a subsidiary of AVANIR Pharmaceuticals (Amex: AVN - news), and Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM - news) today announced that they have entered into an antibody research collaboration agreement. The collaboration is designed to discover, develop and potentially commercialize fully human monoclonal antibody therapies for the treatment of solid tumor cancers.
Terms of the agreement provide for the transfer of three antigen targets from Peregrine to Xenerex for the subsequent generation of fully human monoclonal antibodies, utilizing Xenerex's antibody generation technology. Xenerex will receive upfront research fees and could receive milestones and royalties on future product sales. Peregrine will be responsible for product development, manufacturing and commercialization of any products developed through the collaboration. The specific financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
``Our opportunity to work with Peregrine is yet another step forward in validating the unique technology that Xenerex offers to the biopharmaceutical marketplace,'' said J. David Hansen, president and chief operating officer of Xenerex Biosciences. ``In partnering with Peregrine, we are expanding the number and types of proteins to which we can apply our antibody generation capabilities. Additionally, we are implementing our strategy of continuing to build our client base with partners also focused on novel treatments and technologies.''
``We look forward to working with Xenerex for the generation of antibodies against several targets we have identified as being promising for our therapeutic antibody programs,'' said Steven King, Peregrine's Vice President of Technology and Product Development. ``Based on the strength of data from pre-clinical animal studies using murine antibodies against several different targets, we felt it was time to begin development of fully human antibodies that could potentially serve as candidates for clinical studies. We believe that Xenerex has the ability to efficiently generate these human antibodies. Based on data from our animal models, we feel that these antibodies have the potential to be used as unconjugated antibodies for the treatment of a variety of different solid tumors.''
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development, commercialization and licensing of unique technologies for the treatment of cancer, primarily based on its ``collateral targeting technologies''. These technologies therapeutically target cell structures and cell types, rather than surface cancer cells, as a means to attack solid tumors, without causing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The company has three collateral targeting technologies: Tumor Necrosis Therapy (TNT), Vasopermeation Enhancement Agents (VEA), and Vascular Targeting Agents (VTA). The company's lead TNT based drug, Cotara(TM), is currently being studied in the U.S. in a Phase II trial for brain cancer and five Phase I trials for colorectal, pancreatic, biliary, sarcoma and liver cancers. The company also has a direct tumor-targeting agent called Oncolym® for the treatment of advanced non-Hodgkin's B-cell Lymphoma. Oncolym is being studied in a U.S. Phase I/II.
Xenerex Biosciences, a subsidiary of AVANIR Pharmaceuticals, is a biopharmaceutical company with a customer-focused mission to enable partner companies to develop and commercialize completely human antibody products. Xenerex is building a portfolio of antibody product candidates through agreements and licenses with biopharmaceutical companies. Xenerex has also identified targets of its own and is in the process of generating antibody product candidates for eventual out-licensing or development.
AVANIR Pharmaceuticals, based in San Diego, is an emerging diversified biopharmaceutical company engaged in research, development, commercialization, licensing and sales of innovative drug products and antibody generation services. The company's website is avanir.com.
Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements that are preceded by, followed by, or that include such words like ``estimate,'' ``anticipate,'' ``believe,'' ``plan'' or ``expect'' or similar statements are forward-looking statements. In regard to AVANIR Pharmaceuticals and Xenerex Biosciences, risks and uncertainties include risks associated with product discovery and development as well as risks shown in AVANIR's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and from time-to-time in other publicly available information regarding the companies. Copies of such information are available from AVANIR upon request. Such publicly available information sets forth many risks and uncertainties related to AVANIR's business and technology. Xenerex's monoclonal antibody technology competes with several technologies used by large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and is subject to a number of uncertainties, including risks associated with the success of clinical trials, the progress of research and product development programs, the regulatory approval process, competitive products and future capital requirements. There can be no assurance that such development efforts will succeed, that such products will receive required regulatory clearance, or that even if such regulatory clearance were received, that such products would ultimately achieve commercial success. The companies disclaim any intent or obligations to update these forward-looking statements.
SOURCE: AVANIR Pharmaceuticals; Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
