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Biotech / Medical : Techniclone (TCLN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Joseph B. Teig who wrote (2832)	1/6/1999 9:10:00 AM
From: EZLibra	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3702

Here's the Dow Jones story on the VTA patents. After some ineffective editing I think I'll take a stab at translating it into the King's English in a following post.... January 6, 1999 Dow Jones Newswires Techniclone Gets 'Very Broad' Patent For Cancer Tumor Tech Dow Jones Newswires This story was originally published Tuesday By Rhonda L. Rundle TUSTIN, Calif. (Dow Jones)--Techniclone Corp. (TCLN) has received a "very broad" patent that protects the company's technology of killing cancer tumors by destroying their blood vessels, President and Chief Executive Larry O. Bymaster told Dow Jones. The patent, issued today by the U.S. Patent Office, covers "all agents" that can be delivered to these solid tumors, Bymaster said. Previously, Techniclone held patents that covered several specific agents, but not all of them, he said. For example, the new patent covers chemotherapy, biologic agents, toxins and radioisotopes when they are used with Techniclone's technology to fight cancer through delivery to the surface of a tumor blood vessel, Bymaster said. In the wake of the patent award, companies working in this field, known as vascular targeting agents (VTAs), "will have to contend with Techniclone," the executive said. The patent "should bring increased licensing opportunities," said John N. Bonfiglio, vice president of business development. Bymaster said there are some major pharmaceutical companies interested in VAT technology. "Many companies have contacted us as potential partners," he said. He couldn't identify them, he said, because he doesn't know if they have publicly disclosed their research. Techniclone's goal is to have a VTA compound ready for testing in the next 12 to 18 months, Bymaster said. Another promising cancer-fighting technology, which attacks angiogenesis, isn't covered under the new patent, Bymaster said. Anti-angiogenesis inhibits the formation of new blood vessels to a tumor, whereas VTAs destroy established tumors, he said. "The patents are different, but we think in the long run that ours is a more powerful tool." Techniclone acquired its VTA technology in April 1997 when it bought Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. In laboratory and animal studies, cited by Techniclone, VTAs have blocked tumor blood vessels and the tumor cells began to die within hours of administration. Philip Thorpe, director of oncology research at the University of Maine's Center for Molecular Medicine, is currently developing several candidates for possible human tests. VTAs bind to existing tumor blood vessels and induce clotting, which eventualy leads to massive tumor death, he has said.