ABX-CBL antibody (a.k.a. CBL-1) that is currently in Phase II trials for graft vs. host disease (GVHD)
Abgenix acquired rights to anti- body and will continue Phase II trials in GVHD after completing confirmatory study required by change in manufacturing process; Abgenix will also evaluate product in kidney and other organ transplant rejection indications (3/97)
Advanced Viral Research Corp. (NASDAQ:ADVR)
National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Insti- tutes of Health [Howard Young]
CRADA/MTA (Cooperative Research and Development Agreement/ Material Transfer Agreement)
Collaboration on molecular mecha- nism by which Retic- ulose (a peptide nucelic acid product) affects transcription of gamma interferon gene
Details ND (3/97)
Affymetrix Inc., Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Bristol- Meyers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY)
The Whitehead Institute/Massachu- setts Institute of Technology Center for Genome Research [Eric Lander]
Consortium
Research program in functional geno- mics (to develop the next generation of genomics technol- ogies)
Companies formed consortium to fund 5-year investigator-initiated research program (total $40M at $8M/year); Whitehead gets access to Millennium and Affymetrix technologies; companies get cer- tain licensing rights to develop- ments funded by consortium or emerging from use of contributed technology (4/97)
Agouron Pharma- ceuticals Inc.
The University of Newcastle-Upon- Tyne (U.K.) and Cancer Research Campaign Technol- ogy (CRCT; U.K.)
License; research collaboration
Development of anticancer drugs based on CRCT¿s prototype inhibitors of poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP; plays key role in chemotherapy drug- resistance of tumors)
Agouron acquired license to PARP and will support research at New- castle, contribute its expertise in structural analysis and optimize and develop PARP inhibitors; CRCT gets milestones and royal- ties if Agouron commercializes PARP inhibitors (10/97)
Agritope Inc. (unit of Epitope Inc.)
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Option on license; collaboration
Evaluation of 5 different plant genes discovered by Salk (confer enhanced agronomic traits)
Agritope will evaluate genes and has exclusive option to license them for use in fresh fruit and vegetables; Agritope will also genetically engineer prototype commercial plant varieties con- taining these genes and evaluate their utility in field applications (3/97)
American Biogen- etic Sciences Inc.
The Chinese Academy of Med- ical Sciences (Peoples Repub- lic of China)
Strategic alliance
Use of American Biogenetics anti- gen-free technology to produce monoclo- nal antibodies of superior affinity and specificity
Alliance expands cooperative relationship established 9/93; Chinese Academy gets rights to technology; American Biogenetic gets rights to develop and commer- cialize diagnostic and therapeutic products (7/97)
Antex Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ: ANTX)
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Contract
Use of Antex¿s Nutriment Signal Transduction tech- nology to develop small molecule inhibitors of patho- gensis in bacteria (modulate expres- sion of virulence factors)
Details ND (5/97)
ArQule Inc.
University of California San Francisco [Charles Craik]
Sponsored research agreement
Viral protease inhib- itors; initial thera- peutic targets are Kaposi¿s sarcoma herpes virus pro- tease, cruzain (pro- tease in Chagas dis- ease) and HIV pro- tease
ArQule will assess and select com- pounds from its Mapping Array program using UCSF¿s crystal structures and biochemical assays for proteases; active leads will be optimized via ArQule¿s Directed Array program; ArQule will spon- sor research and gets exclusive licensing rights to any new tech- nology as well as new drug can- didates (7/97)
ArQule Inc.
University of South- ern California [Nicos Petasis]
License
Set of chemistries for the practical synthesis of alpha- amino acids from or- ganoboronic acids
ArQule will use chemistries to synthesize compounds for its Mapping Array and Directed Array Programs; additional details ND (12/97)
Aurora Bio- sciences Corp.
University of Cal- ifornia San Diego [Atsushi Miyawaki; Roger Tsien]
License
Fluorescent reporter system for measur- ing intracellular sig- naling; chameleon indicators are report- ers of free intracellular calcium concentration
Aurora gets exclusive worldwide license; further details ND (10/97)
Biora AB (Sweden)
University of Gothenburg [Jan Lindhe]
Research collaboration
Preclinical and early clinical studies on new indications for Emdogain (porcine protein that mimics human pro- tein amellogenin, or enamel matrix der- ivative; approved for periodontal uses)
5-year agreement; clinical studies will be conducted at the university (6/97)
Biora AB (Sweden)
Centre of Oral Biol- ogy at the Karolin- ska Institute in Stock- holm
License
Amelin, a protein present during norm- al tooth development in humans
Biora acquired patent rights and will investigate the poss- ibility of using the protein in dental surgery (12/27)
Biota Holdings Ltd. (ASX:BTA; Australia)
Biomolecular Research Institute (Australia)
Alliance
Use of structure- based design to create new drug molecules targeted at specific viral structures; initial focus on respiratory syncytial virus
Biota will pay access fee and royalties on a project-by-project basis (7/97)
Biota Holdings Ltd. (ASX:BTA; Australia)
Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organiz- ation (CSIRO; Australia) [Colin Ward; Peter Colman]
Extension of research collaboration
Development of orally active treat- ment for diabetes (replacement for injectable insulin) via structure-based drug design
Agreement will be extended for 1 more year (7/97)
Biota Holdings Ltd. (ASX:BTA; Australia)
La Trobe Univer- sity (Australia) [Les Deadly; Anthony Kaye]
License
Newly synthesized chemical anticancer compounds that can simultaneously inhib- it 2 enzymes involved in DNA replication
University researchers will con- duct further research before lead compound is selected; Biota will fund development through Phase I trials and gets exclusive worldwide rights to any products (4/97)
Biovector Thera- peutics SA* (France)
INSERM (French National Institute of Health and Medical Research)
License
Chimeric cytomeg- alovirus (CMV) pro- tein (consists of reg- ulatory and matrix proteins) coupled with supramolecular biovector (for use as CMV vaccine)
Biovector Therapeutics gets exclusive license for use of joint patent (11/97)
Briana Bio-Tech Inc. (VSE:BIA; Canada)
University of Alberta, Multiple Sclerosis Research Clinic (Canada) [Joel Weiner]
License
Synthetic peptide technology for treat- ing chronic progres- sive multiple sclero- sis; peptide suppres- ses antibodies that bind to and degrade myelin basic protein
Briana gets exclusive worldwide license to peptide technology plus option to license related technol- ogies; Briana will provide US$0.46M to fund 1st year of clinical research studies and paid US$0.18M upfront license fee; Briana will provide additional US$1.58M for next 3 years of clin- ical studies; company will also conduct all clinical trials in Can- ada and elsewhere toward product approval and will pay milestones and royalties to university (prices converted at ratio of C$1.42/US$1) (letter of intent 5/97; finalized 10/97)
Cadus Pharma- ceutical Corp.
National Jewish Center for Immu- nology and Respir- atory Medicine [Gary Johnson; John Cambier]
License; research collaboration
Signal transduction technologies related to allergic inflamma- tion, cancer, other diseases; includes interleukin-convert- ing enzyme (ICE)- like protease and certain genes
Parties expanded 11/94 agreement; Cadus now has rights to license all signal transduction technolog- ies, subject to terms of 11/94 agreement; Cadus made certain payments (5/97)
Cantab Pharma- ceuticals plc (U.K.)
Marie Curie Cancer Center (U.K.) [Peter OHare]
Joint venture company, Phogen Ltd.
50:50 joint venture to evaluate and develop herpesvirus structural protein VP22 as drug deliv- ery mechanism (for intracellular trans- port of peptides, proteins and DNA)
Phogen gets license to VP22 tech- nology and underlying intellectual property; Cantab will fund Phogen R&D for 1st 2 years; Cantab gets exclusive access to applications of VP22 for immunomodulation of cancer and infectious diseases; specific financial details ND (2/97)
Cell Genesys Inc.
National Cancer Institute
Research collaboration; option agreement
Development of gene therapies for ovarian, breast, colon, lung and prostate cancer
Details ND (1/97)
Cell Genesys Inc.
Dana Farber Can- cer Institute
Research collaboration; option agreement
Development of gene therapies for ovarian, breast, colon, lung and prostate cancer
Details ND (1/97)
Cell Genesys Inc.
Arizona Cancer Center at the University of Arizona
Research collaboration; option agreement
Development of gene therapies for ovarian, breast, colon, lung and prostate cancer
Details ND (1/97)
Cel-Sci Corp.
The American Red Cross
Supply agreement
Human white blood cells for pro- duction of immune booster Multikine (natural mixture of human cytokines)
Partners entered into long-term supply agreement; further details ND (8/97)
Cel-Sci Corp.
National Cancer Institute
CRADA
Ligand Epitope Antigen Presenta- tion System (LEAPS) heterocon- jugate technology for prostate and breast cancer im- munotherapeutics
CEL-SCI and NCI will jointly test LEAPS technology in NCI animal models for prostate and mammary cancers (12/97)
CoCensys Inc.
The University of Saskatchewan (Canada)
License
Small molecule compounds (sodium channel blockers) with analgesic and anti- epileptic activities; lead candidate is CO 102862
CoCensys will pay license fee, milestones and royalties; CoCen- sys will also sponsor research for 3 years (10/97)
CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
National Cancer Institute
Extension of research collaboration inhibitor) for cancer
Development of Metastat (matrix metalloproteinase therapy
Partners will collaborate on clinical development (6/97)
CombiChem Inc. (IPO pending)
University of Pittsburgh [Dennis Curran]
Option agreement; sponsored research
Use of fluorous syn- thesis and separation technologies for multi-parallel syn- thesis of chemical libraries
CombiChem gets exclusive option to license rights to patent for use in specified fields; CombiChem will also sponsor research in this area (9/97)
Cortecs Internation- al Ltd. (U.K.)
Defense Evaluation Research Agency (DERA; U.K.)
Research agreement
Research on use of Cortecs Macro- mune oral drug de- livery system as vehicle for Yersinia pestis F1 and V antigens (oral vaccine against the plague [both bubonic and pneumonic], potential biological weapon)
Agreement extends the 6/96 pact between the parties under which DERA tested Cortecs¿ system in a mouse model; further details ND (3/97)
Cytel Corp.
Institute for Biol- ogical Sciences of the National Re- search Council of Canada
License
Enzyme technology for efficient product- ion of bacterial glycosyltransferases
Cytel gets exclusive license to certain enzyme technology in return for licensing fees and roy- alties on product sales; Cytel¿s Glytec unit will use technology to aid in synthesis of bioactive carbohydrates (5/97)
Mayo Clinic will initiate Phase I/II clinical trial using Dendreon¿s dendri- tic cell therapy for treating advanced prostate cancer (therapy activates killer T cells)
Dendreon will establish a cell processing facility at the Mayo Clinic, which the two parties will own jointly; financial details ND (10/97)
Isolation and col- lection of micro- organisms from Indonesia¿s diverse habitats to search for enzymes with industrial and phar- maceutical uses
2-year agreement; Diversa will assist university in establishing a Center for Microbial Diversity; university gets royalties on any products developed and commer- cialized from research (9/97)
Identification of lead drug com- pounds from micro- organisms collect- ed and isolated from thermal springs
5-year agreement; Diversa will pay annual fee and in exchange gets access to certain areas within Yellowstone National Park for bioprospecting; Diversa has rights to commercialize any products (8/97)
Dyax Corp.*
Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology [Harvey Lodish; Perry Bickel; Phillip Scherer]
Research collaboration
Subtractive Anti- body Screening (SAS) technology for identifying and cloning therapeutic and diagnostic targets (enables identification of cell- specific cell-surface and secreted proteins)
Details ND (9/97)
EntreMed Inc.
Children¿s Hospital (affiliate of Harvard Medical School) [Robert D¿Amato]
License
License on 2-meth- oxyestradiol (natural estrogen metabolite) which inhibits growth of breast cancer cells and blocks angiogenesis
EntreMed gets worldwide rights to product; National Cancer Institute (which collaborated with Children¿s Hospital on preclinical work) will extend pre-clinical and clinical development in collaboration with EntreMed (1/97)
EntreMed Inc.
National Cancer Institute
Two letters of intent on research collaboration
Development of anti-angiogenic drug therapies for use in preclinical and clinical studies; includes Endostatin (natural anti-angio- genic protein) and 2-methoxyestradiol (2-ME; natural oral- ly active estrogen metabolite) as well as 2-ME synthetic analogues
Partners will evaluate various manufacturing processes for Endo- statin; will also evaluate the com- pound in preclinical studies; 2-ME and its analogues will be evaluated in animal models; both letters of intent are for 1 year and will allow immediate initiation of studies while CRADAs are being final- ized (8/97)
Ergo Science Corp.
Massachusetts General Hospital
License
New therapeutic approaches for treat- ing diseases assoc- iated with immune system dysfunction (type of compound or molecule not described)
Ergo Science gets exclusive license to series of patents; further details ND (4/97)
Genelabs Technol- ogies Inc.
University of California San Francisco [John Fahy]
Research collaboration
Clinical study of the association of asthma with 50 gene candidates identified by Genelabs (by positional cloning) from an asthma locus on chromosome 5
Clinical study will determine whether the expression of these genes is altered in atopic asthma patients compared to healthy individuals; further details ND (7/97)
Gene Logic Inc.
Baylor College of Medicine (Prostate Center)
Research collaboration
Identification of genes associated with development and progression of prostate cancer
Baylor will provide its library of tumor and normal prostate cell samples; Gene Logic will evaluate patterns of gene expression and regulation in these samples via its functional genomics technology; Gene Logic will own commercial rights to all genes discovered (1/97)
Gene Logic Inc.
Center for Clinical and Basic Research (CCBR; Denmark)
Research collaboration
Discovery of new genes related to osteoporosis
CCBR will provide normal and osteoporotic human bone samples as well as tissues from animal models for analysis via Gene Logic¿s functional genomics technologies; further details ND (1/97)
Gene Logic Inc.
The Johns Hopkins University [Robert Yolken]
Research collaboration
Discovery of genes associated with schizophrenia and depression
Johns Hopkins will provide its library of brain tissue samples obtained post-mortem from indi- viduals with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or severe depression; Gene Logic will create series of molecular topographies that show changes in gene expression pat- terns in these samples; financial terms ND (4/97)
Gene Logic Inc.
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine [Jay Shapiro]
Research collaboration
To discover genes associated with osteoporosis via Gene Logic¿s gen- omics and bioinfor- matics platforms
Gene Logic gets access to normal and diseased bone samples from patients undergoing surgery; further details ND (5/97)
GeneMedicine Inc.
University of California San Francisco [Donald McDonald]
Research collaboration
Development of gene medicines for treating cancer by inhibiting angiogen- esis (via GeneMed- icine¿s non-viral gene delivery form- ulations)
GeneMedicine will sponsor Mc- Donald¿s research, which involves methods for assessing 3-D organ and cellular distribution of form- ulated DNA complexes in vivo; GeneMedicine has option for exclusive license to any discover- ies (7/97)
Genentech Inc.
Cardiovascular Re- search Center at Massachusetts Gen- eral Hospital
Collaboration
Basic developmen- tal biology research using zebrafish as model organism; especially to identi- fy genes that play key roles in develop- ment of cardiovas- cular, gastrointestinal and nervous systems
Genentech will fund this multiyear collaboration (for undisclosed amount); the 1st goal of the collab- orators is to make publicly avail- able a map of all identified mark- ers in zebrafish genome (2/97)
Genome Thera- peutics Corp.
Creighton University School of Medicine
Collaboration; license
To identify and characterize genes for treating osteo- porosis; initially to clone and character- ize newly discovered gene associated with high bone mass (monogenic trait; may protect against or reverse osteopor- otic process)
Genome Therapeutics gets exclu- sive license to high bone mass (HBM) gene; Creighton will collect and analyze DNA samples and histories from multi-generat- ional family; parties will collab- orate on localizing, identifying and characterizing HBM gene; financial terms ND (4/97)
Genset SA (France)
Hospital Parmenio Pinero and the Cam- pomar Research Foundation (Argentina) [Dr. LaJonquiere]
Collaborative network
Collection, bank- ing and analysis of DNA samples from patients affected with central nervous system disorders (2M patient files)
Genset gets exclusive right to patent any genes and to all commercial applications that result; financial terms ND (6/97)
Genset SA (France)
INSERM (National Institute for Health and Medical Research; France)
Joint research laboratory
Research in fun- ctional genomics; use of mouse models for functional anal- ysis of genes identi- fied by Genset¿s integrated genomics technologies
Joint laboratory will get support from University of Rennes and the Brittany regional government; two partners and regional govern- ment will contribute aggregate US$12M (FF60M) over 3 years; Genset and INSERM will jointly own all inventions; Genset will manage patent filings and gets exclusive worldwide licenses for all applications; INSERM gets royalties on product sales (2/97)
Genset SA
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RSCI)
Research collaboration; joint venture, Surgen
Large-scale cardio- vascular genomics research (via assoc- iation studies based on human clinical data)
Partners have formed 50/50 joint venture (Surgen) which will col- lect samples from tens of thous- ands of patients and process them for DNA banking; Genset will perform genome-wide studies of random, unrelated individuals and analyze genes associated with cardiovascular disease; Genset gets exclusive access to DNA bank for genomics and pharmacogenomics studies; Genset owns all rights and data generated from studies (10/97)
(France)
Genset SA (France)
Technicon Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine (Israel) [Nadine Cohen- Elbaz]
Research collaboration
Collection, banking and analysis of DNA from patients affected with common diseases; focus on large families that have homogeneous background and are representative of well-characterized ethnic groups
2-year agreement; Genset gets exclusive rights to patent any genes and to all commercial applications; financial terms ND (6/97)
Genzyme Corp.
Partners HealthCare System (including Brigham and Women¿s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital)
Basic and clinical research alliance
Fundamental sci- entific research and clinical trials
Genzyme and its divisions get access to expertise in design and management of clinical trials as well as access to research under- way at Partners affiliated institu- tions; Genzyme also gets access to patient base; Partners gets access to Genzyme¿s expertise and abil- ities to commercialize products (9/97)
Genzyme Molecu- lar Oncology (business unit of Genzyme Corp.)
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine [Kenneth Kinzler]
Research collaboration
Use of SAGE tech- nology (serial anal- ysis of gene expres- sion) to identify and analyze gene expres- sion patterns in cancer
Johns Hopkins Kinzler is co- inventor of SAGE technology; Genzyme Molecular got exclusive license to SAGE as part of Gen- zyme¿s 6/97 acquisition of Phar- maGenics Inc.; in this 5-year alliance, Genzyme Molecular will have access to all SAGE-related discoveries and inventions (7/97)
Genzyme Molecu- lar Oncology (business unit of Genzyme Corp.)
Massachusetts General Hospital
Research collaboration
Development of gene therapy for treating chronic hepatitis B (HBV) infection and cancer of the liver
Genzyme will fund R&D and will provide adenoviral vector constructs for intracellular production of certain HBV proteins that interfere with viral replication in liver; Genzyme Mol- ecular will use monoclonal anti- bodies developed at Mass. General to target human liver cancer cells with cationic lipid-based vectors (6/97)
Genzyme Molecu- lar Oncology (business unit of Genzyme Corp.)
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Research collaboration
Use of NCI¿s array of 60 cell- based screens to evaluate Genzyme¿s 1-million-com- pound library for those with anti- cancer activity
The parties will negotiate a clin- ical development agreement for each active compound they agree to develop; Genzyme Molecular Oncology retains all commercial rights to lead compounds (7/97)
Genzyme Trans- genics Corp.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
CRADA
Expansion of R&D on idiotypic cancer vaccines (currently in Phase I trials as adjunct to chemo- therapy in patients with B-cell lymph- oma or multiple myeloma)
This 5-year CRADA expands on Phase I trials at NCI; Genzyme Transgenics, which has made these vaccines for NCI for past 4 years, will optimize and expand vaccine production process; Gen- zyme Transgenics will also fund expansion of ongoing trial and gets right to license the vaccines (4/97)
Geron Corp.
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine [John Gearhart]
License; research collaboration
Technology to isolate and characterize human primordial stem cell lines as well as identify factors that will direct the differentiation process
Details ND (9/97)
HemaSure Inc. and In-Line Diagnostics Co.*
The American Red Cross
Letter of intent to develop product
Non-invasive anemia screening device for use with blood donors (based on In-Line¿s trans- cutaneous hemato- crit technology)
HemaSure will fund product de- velopment and gets exclusive rights (from In-Line) to use tech- nology in blood banking business (3/97)
Human Genome Sciences Inc.
St. Elizabeth¿s Medical Center of Boston, Cato Hold- ing Co. and Jeffrey Isner
Joint venture company, Vascular Genetics Inc.
Gene therapy pro- ducts for treating vascular diseases; 1st gene therapy candidate based on VEGF-2 gene (vascular endothe- lial growth factor; active in formation of new blood vessels)
Human Genome discovered VEGF- 2 gene and has transferred gene therapy rights exclusively to Vas- cular Genetics; new company also has rights to develop 2 additional genes in field of vascular disease from Human Genome¿s gene dis- covery program; Human Genome owns 19.9 0.000000e+00quity in Vascular Genetics and gets warrants for an additional 5.1 0.000000e+00quity; Human Genome alone has option to buy 1000f company; Cato Holding has 40.1take, St. Elizabeth¿s has 20take and Jeffrey Isner has 20take; Human Genome has option to manufacture VEGF- 2 and 2 future genes for a fee and also gets royalties on future pro- duct sales (11/97)
Hyal Pharmaceuti- cal Corp. (NASDAQ: HYALF; Canada)
McMaster Univer- sity (Canada) [Francoise Winnik]
Research collaboration
Use of hyaluronan induced targeting (HIT) technology in conjunction with magnetic resonance imaging for early detection of breast cancer
Hyal and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada will jointly fund research project (total US$1.06M); Hyal will contribute US$0.7M over 3 years (prices converted at ratio of C$1.42/US$1) (10/97)
Hybridon Inc.
The Institute of Human Virology [Robert Gallo]
Research collaboration
Continuation of development of oligonucleotide- based antisense therapies for HIV and AIDS, with an expansion into chemokine receptors as cofactors of infec- tion and into human herpes virus 6 in immunocompromised patients
5-year agreement; further details ND (5/97)
Hyseq Inc.
Conservation International
Partnership
Use of functional genomics to support Conservation Inter- national¿s bio- prospecting as well as preservation of biodiversity (espec- ially in rainforests)
Conservation International will use gene sequencing technology to search for wild plants and organ- isms as sources of new medicines and crops (bioprospecting); Hyseq will give part of any product revenues to conservation efforts in country where project occurs (3/97)
ID Vaccine Corp. (subsidiary of ID Biomedical Corp.; TSE:IDB; Canada)
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Clinical research collaboration
Testing of ID Vac- cines Group A Streptococcus subunit vaccine
ID Vaccine will manufacture pro- duct and supply it to NIAID for initial human trials; NIAID will file IND and conduct Phase I trials; each party will cover its own expenses (10/97)
ID Vaccine Corp. (subsidiary of ID Biomedical Corp.; TSE:IDB; Canada)
University of British Columbia [B. Brett Finlay]
Research collaboration
Development of vaccines for bact- erial infections, including entero- pathogenic and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli
ID Vaccine gets option on exclu- sive worldwide license to technol- ogy (not described) for all vaccine uses (6/97)
ID Vaccine Corp. (subsidiary of ID Biomedical Corp.; TSE:IDB; Canada)
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University [Arye Rubinstein]
License
Subunit vaccine for HIV containing por- tions of the gp 120 surface molecule of six different strains of HIV-1
ID Vaccine licensed rights; Phase I trials are slated to begin in Brazil in the third quarter of 1998 (12/97)
ImClone Systems Inc.
Mario Negri Institute (Italy) [Elisabetta Dejana]
License; research collaboration
Development of small molecule and antibody-based inhibitors to protein VE-capherin-2 (thought to enable formation of capil- lary blood vessel network in solid tumors)
ImClone acquired exclusive rights to protein and also initiated collab- oration on pharmaceutical research (11/97)
ImmuCell Corp.
U.S. Navy [Stephen Savarino]
CRADA
Conduct Phase II field study of TravelGAM (bovine anti-Escherichia coli immunoglobu- lins; for preventing diarrhea) in multi- national military exercise to be con- ducted in the Middle East
Details ND (4/97)
InSite Vision Inc.
University of Connecticut Health Center
License
Gene for primary congenital glaucoma
InSite exercised its option on an exclusive worldwide license to gene for diagnostic uses; partners are developing a diagnostic kit (8/97)
InSite Vision Inc.
University of Rochester
License
Device for non- surgical, controlled delivery of ophth- almic drugs to retina and other tissues in back of eye
InSite Vision gets exclusive worldwide license; further details ND (8/97)
Interferon Sciences Inc.
The American Red Cross
Supply agreement
Human source leukocytes for pro- duction of Alferon N Injection (multi- species alpha inter- feron; FDA-approved for treating certain types of genital warts)
American Red Cross will supply human luekocytes to Interferon Sciences; further details ND (4/97)
Ion Pharmaceuti- cals Inc. (wholly owned subsidiary of Sheffield Medi- cal Technologies Inc.)
Children¿s Hospital Boston [Carlo Brugnara]
License; renewal of sponsored research agreement
Patents related to use of certain com- pounds, including clotrimazole (anti- fungal drug) for treating sickle cell anemia
Ion exercised its option to license series of patents, on which it now has worldwide rights to develop and sublicense clotrimazole, its metabolites and other compounds; Ion will also continue to fund re- search at Children¿s Hospital (1/97)
Isis Pharmaceuti- cals Inc.
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Contract
Discovery of broad- spectrum antibac- terial small molecule drugs that inhibit essential molecular interactions between RNA and proteins that are critical to bacterial life cycle
Details ND (4/97)
Isis Pharmaceuti- cals Inc.
University of Cali- fornia San Francisco [Thomas James]
Research collaboration
Characterization and targeting of particu- lar HIV-1 genes via combinatorial chem- istry and structure- based drug design; in particular, to de- termine molecular structures that interfere with TAR- tat (RNA-protein) interactions
Partners have been jointly award- ed research grant from the Univer- sity¿s Biotechnology Strategic Targets For Alliances In Research (BioSTAR) project; further details ND (1/97)
Lexicon Genetics Inc.*
The Merck Genome Research Institute
Research agreement
Large-scale analysis of gene function via Lexicon¿s Omni- Bank library of 500,000 mouse clones engineered to contain modifications in every gene in mammalian genome
Merck Genome Research Institute will support creation of 150 new mouse models to be distributed on not-for-profit basis to scientific community; Lexicon will get $8M over 5 years (4/97)
LifeCell Corp.
U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research
Cooperative agreement
Development of tissue transplant pro- ducts for use in neurological, derma- tological and cardio- vascular surgery (AlloDerm grafts)
LifeCell awarded $1.07M over 2 years in product development funding; LifeCell will also use its tissue preservation technology to develop vascular grafts for bypass surgery (1/97)
Medarex Inc.
Utrecht University (the Netherlands) [Jan G.J. van de Winkel]
Strategic alliance
Therapeutics for cancer, autoimmune disorders and infect- ious diseases (based on Fc receptors)
Medarex Europe B.V. will provide $0.5M/year for 4 years for R&D; Medarex Europe gets rights to all technology and products (1/97)
MediChem Research Inc.*
State of Sarawak, Malaysia
Joint venture company, Sarawak Pharma- ceuticals MediChem Inc.
Clinical development of anti-HIV compound Calanolide A (isolated from Calophyllum lanigerum tree found in Sarawak rain forest); compound is a non- nucleoside inhibitor of HIV
Company will begin U.S. clinical trials when cleared by FDA; MediChem has worldwide exclu- sive license on compound from National Cancer Institute which discovered it in an anti-HIV screening program (4/97)
MegaBios Corp.
National Jewish Center for Immu- nology and Res- piratory Medicine [Steve Dow]; University of Colorado Health Sciences Center [Pat Walsh]
License; research collaboration
Use of certain un- named immunostim- ulatory genes for treating melanoma and other solid tumors (delivered via MegaBios¿ non- viral gene therapy technology)
MegaBios gets exclusive license to genes; company will finance completion of initial clinical study (under physician-sponsored IND) and will partner product for full- scale clinical development and commercialization (11/97)
Micrologix Bio- tech Inc. (TSE: MBI; Canada)
British Columbia Cancer Agency [Marcel Bally]
Research collaboration
Study of the anti- cancer therapeutic potential of Micro- logixs cationic peptides
Micrologix and The Medical Re- search Council of Canada will fund research in animal models of malignant disease (9/97)
Micrologix Bio- tech Inc. (TSE: MBI; Canada)
Innovation and Development Corp. of the University of Victoria
License
Method for increas- ing efficiency of bacterial production of cationic antimicro- bial peptides
Micrologix gets exclusive world- wide license to pending patents (5/97)
MitoKor Inc.*
University of California San Diego [Jerrold Olefsky]
Research collaboration
Mitochondrial defects and etiology of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (Type II)
MitoKor will provide $0.5M to fund research as part of Biotech- nology Strategic Targets for Alliances in Research Project (BioSTAR) (9/97)
Molecular Dynamics Inc. and Amersham Life Science Ltd. (U.K.)
Huntsman Cancer Institute and the University of Utah [Raymond White]
Strategic collaboration
Development of high-throughput DNA Microarray System for study of gene expression in complex biological systems
Huntsman will fund research in exchange for early access to latest microarray technologies (6/97)
Molecular Dynamics Inc. and Amersham Life Science Ltd. (U.K.)
The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR)
Collaboration
Development of high-throughput DNA Microarray System (measures gene expression in many types of cells)
TIGR will participate in the Microarray Technology Access Program and provide collaborative expertise in exchange for early access to latest microarray technol- ogies (7/97)
Mycogen Corp.
Washington University [Roy Curtiss III]
Licenses
Technology to genetically alter plants to produce antigens that elicit immune response to disease (edible vaccines)
Mycogen gets exclusive rights to human and animal health applica- tions of technology; Mycogen will sublicense human health rights and develop animal health applica- tions itself (11/97)
Myriad Genetics Inc.
Valley Mental Health (Utah)
Research collaboration
Development of database on central nervous system dis- orders and use of database (combi- ned with geneolo- gical database) to identify genes associated with these disorders
Valley Mental Health has collected 100,000 anonymous patient rec- ords over 30 years; Myriad Gene- tics gets worldwide exclusive rights to diagnostic and therapeutic applications of data generated (11/97)
NeoPharm Inc.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) and FDA [Raj Puri]
License; CRADA
Development of chimeric human protein IL13-PE38- QQR (fusion of receptor-binding ligand interleukin- 13 with a derivative of Pseudomonas exotoxin [PE38Q- QR]); initially for treating kidney cancer
NeoPharm gets exclusive world- wide license from NIH; NeoPharm also entered into CRADA with FDA for clinical and commercial development of product as anti- cancer agent (and to expand to other tumor types) (10/97)
Northwest Neuro- Logic Inc.*
Oregon Health Sciences University [Roger Cone]
License
Investigation of link between melanocortin (MSH) receptors in brain, eating behavior and obesity
Northwest NeuroLogic gets exclusive license to melano- cortin receptors (1/97)
Oncor Inc.
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
License
Patent for product that detects aberrant methylation of the glutathione-S-trans- ferase gene (GSTP1) promoter region (very early genetic change in development of prostate cancer)
Oncor gets exclusive worldwide license on product for use in genetic diagnosis of prostate can- cer (this is 9th agreement between the parties in area of genomic cancer technology) (4/97)
Oncor Inc.
University of Heidelberg [Thomas Cremer]
License
High-throughput technology for re- moving repeat se- quences, if present, from DNA probes
Cancer Research Campaign Tech- nology (CRCT; U.K.) and Duke University
License
BRCA2 gene and related discoveries
OncorMed gets exclusive world- wide license for use in diagnostic products and services; CRCT and Duke are pursuing licensees for therapeutic applications; Oncor- Med will share in revenues gener- ated from therapeutic licenses (7/97)
Onyx Pharma- ceuticals Inc.
Lawrence Liver- more National Lab- oratory Genome Center [Greg Lennon; Joanna Albala]
Research collaboration
Development of functional genomics system that includes automated high- throughput methods for expressing and purifying proteins (Proteome Project)
Lawrence Livermore has collection of arrayed cDNA libraries; the collection of proteins generated will facilitate identification of new therapeutic targets; 2-year collaboration funded under the Biotechnology Strategic Targets for Alliances in Research Project (BioSTAR) (8/97)
OraVax Inc.
St. Louis University [Thomas Chambers]
License
Chimeric flavivirus vaccine technology; combines genes required for replication of yellow fever YF 17D vaccine strain virus with genes for viral coat antigens of target virus (platform technology for OraVax¿s Chimeri- Vax vaccines)
OraVax gets exclusive worldwide rights; further details ND (9/97)
Ortec International Inc.
New Jersey Center for Biomaterials and Medical Devices [Michael Dunn]
Collaboration
To develop 2nd gen- eration collagen matrix for use in pro- duction of Ortec¿s Composite Cultured Skin (CCS; currently in clinical trials for treating severe burns)
Details ND (1/97)
OXiGENE Inc.
Arizona State University [George Pettit]
Development agreement
Development of Combretastatin A-4 as a prodrug for treating solid tumors; naturally occurring molecule is thought to inhibit angiogenesis
OXiGENE gets option on exclu- sive worldwide royalty-bearing license (5/97)
OXiGENE Inc.
Boston Medical Center (affiliate of Boston University)
Clinical trial and sponsored research agreement
Clinical study of 3 deoxyadenosine (cor- dycepin) and 2-de- oxycorformycin (pentostatin) in patients with TdT-positive acute lymphoid leukemia
Boston Medical Center will con- duct Phase I trial under IND spon- sored by National Cancer Institute; OXiGENE gets option for exclusive worldwide license for cordycepin (1/97)
OXiGENE Inc.
Joint Center for Radiation Therapy, Department of Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (University of Texas)
Collaboration
Research on OXi- GENEs compounds Oxi-104 and Neu- Sensamide; focus on tumor growth, apop- tosis and brain tumors
Collaboration involves preclinical and clinical studies; universities will assist company in establishing clinical trial protocols (4/97)
Paracelsian Inc.
National Cancer Institute [Genoveffa Fran- Institute (NCI)
CRADA
Screening of Para- celsian's library of extracts of traditional chinese medicinal herbs for compounds that modulate cell signaling pathways involved in cancer and HIV infection
The CRADA extends the 1995 letter of intent between the parties for 2 years (through 12/98) (1/97)
Peptimmune Inc.
Massachusetts General Hospital
License option
Peptimer, which are comprised of multiple linked peptide antigens that can more efficiently induce a highly specific T-cell response at a much lower dose than the same peptide antigen in its natural singular form.
Peptimmune has an exclusive option to license patent pending Peptimer technology for use in developing selected p24 peptide antigens as a potential therapeutic HIV vaccine (12/97)
Pharmacylics Inc
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Collaboration
Additional clinical trials of Pharmacylic's adjunct cancer treatments Gd Tex (gadolinium texaphyrin a radiation sensitizer and LuTex (lutetium texaphyrin a photosensitizer)
Parteners will collaborate on design of clinical studies and selection of tumor indications; partners are also in progress of structuring a CRADA inder which NCI will sponser multiple clinical trials on both products(3/97)
Sequana Thera- peutics Inc. (merged with Arris Pharmaceutical Corp. to form Axys Pharmaceuticals Inc.)
Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center
Formation of joint venture, Genos Biosciences Inc.
Cancer genetics; to identify somatic mutations and related sequence data for use in prognosis, diagnosis and treat- ment of many com- mon cancers (init- ially breast, colon and prostate cancer)
The joint venture will be a free- standing R&D company, to which each party will contribute $5M for initial funding; Sloan- Kettering will provide retrospective patient database of tumor-tissue samples and information on treatment outcomes, as well as data from ongoing clinical activiites; Sequana will provide its gene discovery platform and functional genomics technologies (letter of intent 8/96; definitive agreement 1/97)
Seragen Inc. and Marathon Biopharmaceut- icals
Boston University
Sale of business unit/ creation of new company
Contract develop- ment and GMP manufacturing
After Seragen sold its operating division to Boston University, the unit was renamed Marathon Bio- pharmaceuticals; Marathon has contracts with BioChem Vaccines Inc., of Quebec, and with Seragen (12/97)
Shanghai GeneCore BioTechnologies Co. Ltd. (GeneCore; joint venture of Sequana Thera- peutics Inc., The Perkin-Elmer Corp. and SiniWest Holdings Inc.)
State Science and Technology Com- mission of China (consortium that includes the China National Center for Biotechnology Development, among others) (Peoples Republic of China)
Research contract
Sequencing of human genes for liver cancer
Under terms of the government contract, GeneCore will use its high-throughput genomic sequen- cing and related technologies to identify and sequence genes; GeneCore gets research funds and milestone payments; specific terms ND (10/97)
Sparta Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Estate of Karl Beyer
License
Pyrazinoylguanidine (PZG)
Sparta's Horizon Pharmaceuticals subsidiary will develop the drug candidate, which has poten- tial to treat a variety of chronic metabolic diseases, including Type II diabetes mellitus; Phase II testing begins in 1998 (12/97)
SuperGen Inc.
The Stehlin Foun- dation for Cancer Research
License
Anticancer drug (RSF 2000); a topo- isomerase I inhibitor that is semisynthetic derivative of plant alkaloid extracted from bark and leaves of Chinese tree Camptotheca acuminata (current- ly in Phase II clin- ical trial for pan- creatic cancer)
SuperGen gets exclusive world- wide rights to patented drug in exchange for $2.5M up-front pay- ment (in common stock), ongoing development payments, additional milestone payments (in equity) and royalties (9/97)
Synsorb Biotech Inc. (Canada)
University of Alberta [Monica Palcic]
Collaborative research agreement
Alternative methods for synthesizing clinically relevant carbohydrates as anti-infective agents; disease targets include rotavirus and other viral and bact- erial diseases
University researchers will get US$0.3M from NRC/NSERC Research Partnership Program for 3-year study; Synsorb gets access to any research data generated (3/97)
Trega Biosciences Inc. Vimrx Pharma- ceuticals Inc.
Torrey Pines Institute for Mole- cular Studies [Richard Houghten] Columbia Genome Center of Columbia University
Extension of research agreement Formation of joint venture, Vimrx Genomics Inc.; option on license
Design and synthe- sis of small-mole- cule combinatorial libraries Mapping, sequenc- ing, gene discovery, and technology development on genomes of humans and other selected organisms; especial- ly for localization and identification of human disease genes
Extension of 1992 agreement to 4/98; Trega also has option to extend for 3 years beyond that; Trega will fund research and has option for exclusive license to inventions (5/97) Vimrx will own 900f new company, Columbia will own 10%; VIMRx Genomics will pro- vide $30M over 5 years to fund R&D; Vimrx gets option for exclusive license to technology de- veloped by Columbia Genome Center, including certain recently discovered cancer-associated genes (3/97)
Vimrx Genomics Inc. (majority- owned subsidiary of VIMRx Pharma- ceuticals Inc.; joint venture with Colum- bia University)
Columbia Genome Center (Columbia University) [Riccardo Dalla- Favera]
Research collaboration
Development of diagnostics and therapeutics based on cancer genes bcl-6 (regulatory gene overexpressed in 700f patients with non-Hodgkins B cell lymphoma) and mum-1 (regulatory gene over- expressed in many patients with multiple myeloma)
Vimrx Genomics will identify candidate target sites on genes to intervene in these 2 types of can- cer; gene licenses and patent rights will be transferred from Columbia to Vimrx Genomics; the company will seek strategic alliances for product development (11/97)
Vimrx Pharma- ceuticals Inc.
Columbia University [David Stern]
R&D collaboration; license
Development of Fac- tor IXa inhibitor (IXai, renamed VM20), an anti- coagulant
Vimrx gets exclusive worldwide license to protein, which it will de- velop for preventing blood clots in patients undergoing cardiopulmon- ary bypass surgery and in hemo- dialysis patients; partners will col- laborate on product development; Columbia gets initial cash payment of $0.1M and a minimum of $0.9M/year for 3 years for R&D; Columbia also gets a percentage of commercial proceeds (3/97)
Vion Pharma- ceuticals Inc.
Yale University
Amendment of 2 licensing agreements
Licenses on 4 anti- viral and anticancer products: TAPET (tumor amplifying protein expression therapy); triapine (ribonucleotide reductase inhibitor); alkylating agent pro- drugs; and antiviral drug B-L-Fd4C
Vion will decrease its cash pay- ments to Yale associated with sub- licensing agreement milestones; in return, Vion will issue addition- al shares of its common stock to Yale (for an increased equity stake) (8/97)
Visible Genetics Inc. (Canada)
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Research collaboration
Use of Visible Gen- etics¿ DNA sequen- cing technology to develop sequence- based diagnostics for insect and fun- gal pests (targeted natural insecticides)
2-year collaboration is part of The Matching Investment Initiative Program in Canada; Visible Gen- etics retains option for exclusive commercial rights to any products (11/97)
Vysys Inc. (IPO pending)
The University of Chicago, Center for Medical Genetics
License
Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technology for detecting abnor- malities in genes and chromosomes
Vysys granted Chicago a non- exclusive royalty-bearing license to its patented technology; Chicago will use the technology for gene- tic assessment services for patients (1/97)
Wisconsin Genetics Inc. (subsidiary of Endorex Corp.)
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation [Michael Gould]
License
Anticancer drug perillyl alcohol (POH; synthetic monoterpene)
Wisconsin Genetics gets exclusive worldwide license to drug, which is in National Cancer Institute sponsored Phase I trials; Wisconsin Genetics has option to license additional monoterpene compounds (8/97)