Biomira Inc. and Sterling Winthrop Inc. on Monday announceda multiyear agreement to develop cancer productsincorporating Biomira's monoclonal antibodies.

Biomira shares (NASDAQ:BIOMF) rose $1 to $24.88.

Under the agreement, Sterling of New York has an exclusiveoption to license worldwide, excluding Canada, five of Biomira'sexisting murine antibodies that recognize carbohydrates on thesurface of cancer cells.

The MAbs are products of Biomira's Active SpecificImmunotherapy therapeutic vaccine program to treat cancer.The ASI program is not included in the agreement.

The license option covers all radioisotopic therapeutic uses andmagnetic resonance imaging uses in human cancers. Theagreement also covers some chimeric and human antibodiesdeveloped by Biomira for human cancer applications, subject tocertain rights retained by Biomira.

Biomira of Edmonton, Alberta, will receive option, licensing andmilestone payments, plus sales royalties. Further terms werenot disclosed.

Sterling already has exercised an option on one antibody,Biomira 174, for use against squamous cell carcinomas of thecervix, lung and head and neck. The radioisotopic therapiesdeveloped by Sterling will use yttrium-90.

The agreement does not cover Biomira's radioimaging program.The company has four products in Phase I/II clinical trials thatuse MAbs linked with technetium-99 to image breast, ovary,prostate, head and neck, lung, colon and cervical cancers.

-- Karen Bernstein BioWorld Staff

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