Company* | University/ | Type Of | Product Area | Details (Date) |
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Aerogen Inc. | U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases | Cooperative research and development agreement | For inhaled vaccines targeted to counter certain effects of bioterrorism | Aerogen is providing modifi- cations of Aerogen's Aeroneb professional nebulizer system; USAMRIID will perform animal research studies using the pro- duct with vaccines against biological warfare agents to develop improved immunization for military personnel (5/2) |
Agencourt | Duke University Medical Center | Two agreements | To provide genomic services for cancer research, and to pro- vide large-scale assay development and single nucleotide polymorphism geno- typing services | Agencourt will use its Solid Phase Reversible Immobilization technology to aid researchers in determining the molecular anatomy of normal, precancerous and cancerous cells (3/25); Agencourt will use its high-throughput genomics services pipeline and the Sequenom Inc. MassArray mass spectrometry genotyping platform to develop pharmacogenomic markers based on patient DNA samples (5/13) |
ApoImmune | Jewish Hospital | Partnership | To research a new cancer treatment | The study will test a treatment developed by ApoImmune that alters cancer cells so they can be recognized and attacked by the body's immune system (5/13) |
AxCell | Mount Sinai School of Medicine | Research collaboration | To identify molecules useful for treating HIV-associated nephropathy | AxCell has an exclusive option to negotiate an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing license from Mount Sinai for resulting inventions (4/30) |
AxCell | University of Muenster (Germany) | Term sheet agreement | To research protein interactions associated with an undisclosed gene believed to play a role in neurodegenerative diseases | The parties agreed that intellectual property derived from the collaboration would be the joint property of AxCell and the university, with AxCell retaining an option to negotiate an exclusive worldwide, royalty-bearing license from the university (4/24) |
Boston | University of Maryland | Collaboration | To develop an assay for the detection of prion proteins in blood | Boston Biomedica was awarded a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer grant for this program; the first year's funding will be $123,000 (4/17) |
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Cepheid Inc.
| U.S. Army Medical Research Institute | Development agreement | To develop biochemical reagents used to detect bio-threat agents and other pathogens, as well as develop various protocols, processes and assays for Cepheid's GeneXpert DNA detection system | The institute expanded Cepheid's development contract by $3.4M during the next two years (5/9) |
Cepheid Inc. | U.S. Postal Service | Evaluation agreement | To evaluate the use of DNA-based bio-threat detection technology to protect against biological hazards, including anthrax | Cepheid is receiving $3.7M in initial funding for the project (5/13) |
Chiron Corp. | Global Alliance for TB Drug Development | Licensing agreement | For the PA-824 compound to develop as a new drug to treat tuberculosis | The TB alliance will incur costs for further development of PA-824 (2/1) |
CombiMatrix | Computational Biology Research Center (a unit of the Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology) | Technology access and purchase agreement | CombiMatrix gene chip synthesizer | The CBRC purchased and installed the synthesizer and entered into a multiyear agreement to purchase blank chips that will be used to synthesize custom gene chips; the agreement also gives CBRC access to the CombiMatrix set of informatics tools (4/26) |
Crucell NV | The Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases | Cooperative research and development agreement | To jointly develop a vaccine against the Ebola virus | The vaccine will be based on AdVac and produced on PER.C6; Crucell would have an option on exclusive worldwide commercialization rights to any resulting vaccine (5/16) |
Cyclacel Ltd.* | University of Edinburgh (Scotland) | Research collaboration | To discover molecules | The three-year collaboration includes exclusive licensing to Cyclacel of the university's Lidaeus in silico screening software program; the parties will apply drug design techniques, including computational biology, X-ray crystallography, NMR structure, and computational and combinatorial chemistry, to the discovery of molecules (3/21) |
Cytovax Bio- | University of Alberta (Canada) | License agreement | For intellectual property pertaining to Cytovax's Coiled-Coil technology | Cytovax will receive an exclusive, worldwide license to university technology covered by a U.S. patent application titled "Polypeptide Compositions Formed Using a Coiled-Coil Template and Methods of Use"; the agreement provides for license, milestone and royalty payments from Cytovax to the university (5/8) |
DiaDexus Inc.* | Mayo Clinic and Mayo Medical Laboratories | Collaboration | To explore the clinical applications of a test that detects a risk factor for cardiovascular disease | The test is the PLAC Test; Mayo and Mayo Medical will conduct various research studies to evaluate the applications of the test (4/17) |
Digital Gene | Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences | Collaboration | To apply DGT's patented TOGA gene expression profiling technology in an investigation of retinoid receptor signaling | Agreement will include studies on retinoid receptor-deficient mice to understand the role of vitamin A in the synaptic changes that occur in the brain during learning and memory (3/26) |
Dyax Corp. | The Center for Blood Research | Licensing agreement | For rights to develop and commercialize therapeutic products aimed at an undisclosed inflammatory disease target | Dyax also has the option to license additional adhesion molecules (3/27) |
ES Cell | National Institutes of Health | Research agreement | To study human embryonic stem cells | NIH scientists will study the six stem cell lines held by ES (4/12) |
Euroscreen | Mount Sinai School of Medicine | Licensing agreement | For exclusive worldwide rights to a patent estate covering a human hormone receptor technology based on a G protein-coupled receptor that binds gonadotropin-releasing hormone | Euroscreen will use the technology to discover and characterize molecules that modulate the GnRH receptor (4/15) |
Genelabs | University of Iowa | Collaboration | To study the impact of the hepatitis G virus on HIV infection | Genelabs granted the university a nonexclusive research license to Genelabs' HGV patent portfolio and the parties exchanged research materials; both parties will make research licenses and materials available at no cost to other academic institutions (5/1) |
Genomatica | The University of California at San Diego and Pennsylvania State University | License agreements | For areas of constraints-based modeling of metabolism and its associated regulatory processes | Genomatica will have broad, exclusive rights to seven inventions in the University of California agreement; the Penn State agreement involves a patent application for the study and determination of optimal performance characteristics of biochemical reaction and regulatory networks (4/24) |
Genome | Genome Spain Foundation | Agreement | To promote scientific and industrial cooperation between Spain and Canada in genomics research | Parties jointly will conduct large-scale genomics projects (5/8) |
Genomics | National Cancer Institute | Agreement | To use the GCI Access program to facilitate its genomics-based discovery and validation efforts | The agreement grants NCI access to GCI's Global Repository of DNA samples collected from more than 100,000 patients (4/8) |
Genoptix | U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency | Phase I research and development project | To use the Optophoresis technology on cellular or environmental samples | Genoptix received a $99,000 contract with the agency, with the potential for a Phase II contract for up to $750,000 (5/8) |
Gentel Inc.* | University of Wisconsin, the University of British Columbia and the California Institute of Technology | Collaborative agreements | To develop biochip-based genomic tools for life science research | Gentel garnered funding from federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (3/22) |
GenTel Inc.* | University of Wisconsin | Collaboration | To detect and identify plant, animal and human viruses | GenTel will use its biochip-based genomics toolkit to detect and identify the viruses in a matter of hours (5/3) |
Heparinex | University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center | Licensing agreement | For a method of biotechnology | Heparinex will commercialize the technology, developed by Paul DeAngelis, an associate professor at the university, whose innovation in recombinant heparin production enables direct manufacture of heparin (5/2) |
Illumina Inc. | University of California | Commercial agreement | To provide SNP genotyping services on a sample collection provided by the university | Illumina will use its BeadArray technology to genotype specified SNPs in the sample set; Illumina also will identify potential SNPs for the study and design functional assays for the SNP loci (4/26) |
Impath Inc. | University of California Medical Center | Six-year agreement | To participate in the Impath GeneBank program | GeneBank is a platform designed to accelerate the development of new targeted therapies in oncology (3/28) |
InforMax | Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine | Licensing agreement | To serve the analysis and data management needs of researchers | Researchers at the school's microarray core facility will use the GenoMax solution for molecular biological research (3/26) |
Interleukin | Center for Healthcare Policy and Evaluation | Research collaboration | To study how commonly inherited gene variants affect the response of patients with certain inflammatory diseases to specific drugs | Interleukin hopes to develop pharmacogenetic tests to assist in the selection of the optimal drug for an individual patient (4/16) |
Ionian Tech- | Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences | Licensing agreement | To develop and market disposable products | The products are based on a direct method of preparing genetic material for analysis, a method identified by the institute's co-founder (3/17) |
Isis Pharma- | U.S. Army Medical Research Institute | Contract | To advance the Ibis Therapeutics divisions' work in developing | The contract is worth $2.4M (4/4) |
MDS Sciex | Genome Canada | Collaborative research agreement | To develop tools to increase the capabilities of scientists in the field of genomics | The agreement is worth C$17.5M (US$11M) to MDS Sciex (4/4) |
MediGene | University of Chicago | Two-year cooperation agreement | To study the influence of ionizing radiation exposure on tumor cell growth | MediGene will provide research funding, and has an option for exclusive worldwide licenses to new inventions resulting from the study (3/27**) |
MetriGenix | Temple University | Research agreement | To co-develop proteomic chips in the area of cardiovascular disease | The chips will be targeted for use by researchers focused on defining the cellular and molecular basis for cardiovascular disease (4/3) |
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Mimotopes
| Baker Medical Research Institute (Australia) | Development agreement | To develop a new class of drugs to treat congestive heart failure and other cardiovascular system diseases | Mimotopes will apply its medicinal chemistry knowledge to the Baker Institute's cardiovascular medicine expertise (5/16) |
Modex Thera- | University of Geneva (Switzerland) | Research agreement | For stem cell factor modulators, with the first indication being hyperpigmented skin conditions such as lentigo senilis and dysplasic naevi | The parties received a grant of US$299,632 from the Swiss Federal Office of the Commission for Technology and Innovation (4/15) |
Morphotek | Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (Germany) | Development agreement | For monoclonal antibodies and antibody product strains for the treatment of cancer and other diseases | Morphotek will apply its Morphodoma technology to Ludwig cell lines producing humanized MAbs that target cell-surface cancer antigens; Morphotek and Ludwig will co-own and develop the improved antibodies (5/1) |
Neuralstem | Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency | Contract | To apply its stem cell technology to the discovery of drugs that may enhance cognitive ability and extend the ability to perform cognitive tasks during extended periods of sleep deprivation | Neuralstem was awarded a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract that provides $2.4M in funding in 2002 and 2003 (4/3) |
Nymox Pharm- | Massachusetts General Hospital | Licensing agreement | To license certain patent rights with respect to novel cancer markers that have potential applications in the treatment and diagnosis of specific cancers | Nymox is developing treatments for enlarged prostate and has several antibacterials in development (4/11) |
Oncosis Inc.* | University of Texas Medical Branch | Sponsored research agreement | To develop the Photosis technology platform, an automated laser-based cell treatment system | The agreement was formed with James Leary and the university in order to develop ultra-high-speed isolation of adult human stem-progenitor cell subsets for gene expression microarray analyses and subsequent study of the effects of HIV on stem-progenitor cells in the progression of AIDS (3/25) |
Oxford | Institute of Ophthalmology (UK) | Research collaboration | To develop products to treat age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy based on Oxford BioMedica's gene therapy platforms | Oxford BioMedica has been evaluating the use of its Lenti-Vector gene transfer platform and its Hypoxia Response Element technology for switching genes on and off, in the treatment of eye diseases (5/15**) |
Progen | Griffith University (Australia) | Research collaboration | For Progen's heparanase program | The parties received a Linkage grant from the Australian Research Council to support the work (3/28) |
Provid Pharma- | University of Pennsylvania | Licensing agreement | Small-molecule peptide mimetics | Provid has exclusive worldwide rights to the technology and intends to develop drug candidates for multiple biological targets (4/2) |
Psychiatric | University of Louisville | Research agreements | Human olfactory neuroepithelial cells | Two agreements were formed; in the first one, PsyGenomics will support research on human olfactory neuroepithelial cells; in the second one, PsyGenomics will receive an exclusive license to use several of the cell lines in its gene and drug discovery programs (4/23) |
RiboTargets | The Institute of Cancer Research (UK) | Collaboration | To identify and develop inhibitors of the HSP90 "chaperone" family as potential anticancer drugs | The institute will continue to evaluate the inhibitors of HSP90; RiboTargets will provide chemistry and structure-based design capability to identify new inhibitors (3/27) |
Rosetta Bio- | National Institute of Radiological Sciences (Japan) System | Licensing agreement | Rosetta Resolver Gene Expression Data Analysis | Financial terms were not disclosed (4/29) |
Sensium | Biotechnology Research Institute of the National Research Council of Canada | Two-year agreement | To develop and validate Helix's drug discovery technology | The deal will bring together Helix's Heterodimer Protein Technology and BRI's membrane protein receptor knowledge (5/8) |
Targeted | University of Pennsylvania | Sponsored research agreement | Adeno-associated virus delivery of genes involved in lipid metabolism | Scientist Daniel Rader, of the university, will evaluate the delivery of the genes in several mouse models of dyslipidemia (4/25) |
Third Wave | Japan's National Cancer Center | Access agreement | Third Wave Invader products | The center will use the products to genotype more than 100,000 different genetic variations in each of several hundred individuals in a large-scale study to discover the genetic foundations of cancer; Third Wave will receive an initial multimillion-dollar payment (4/2) |
Transgenomic | University Technologies International Inc. | Licensing agreement | Technology invented by Richard Pon of the university | The technology is designed to speed up and reduce the cost of synthesizing nucleic acids (5/6) |
Viventia | Columbia University | Sponsored research agreement | "Totally human" hybridomas | Columbia will source and obtain lymphocytes from cancer patients; the lymphocytes will be fused with fusion partners, including a second-generation technology developed at Columbia, to create "totally human" hybridomas; promising antibodies will be transferred to Viventia for further development and confirmation (4/26) |
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Notes: | ||||
This chart does not include grant agreements (unless they are also part of a larger collaboration) or agreements between biotech companies and clinical trial centers; chart includes one item before March 21 that was not listed in previous chart. | ||||
* Denotes privately held company; unless otherwise noted, shares are traded on the Nasdaq exchange. | ||||
** Denotes the date the item ran in BioWorld International. | ||||
@ Some institutions listed have for-profit components. They are located in the U.S. unless otherwise noted. | ||||
NYSE = New York Stock Exchange; SWX = Swiss Stock Exchange; TSE = Toronto Stock Exchange | ||||
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