Idec Pharmaceuticals Corp. said Wednesday it has entered intoan agreement under which Zenyaku Kogyo Co. Ltd. will pay Idec$9.5 million for Japanese rights to Idec's B cell cancertherapeutics.

Zenyaku, headquartered in Tokyo, will receive an undisclosedamount of Idec preferred stock in return for rights in Japanand certain Asian countries to develop and market Idec's panelof anti-idiotype antibodies for treating B cell lymphoma. Thedeal also includes two other B cell malignancies: chroniclymphocytic leukemia and AIDS-related lymphoma. Idec willreceive a royalty on sales.

B cells are the immune system cells that produce and secreteantibodies, the proteins that recognize and bind to foreignmolecules (antigens). On their surfaces, B cells have anantibody molecule that functions as a receptor that recognizesa specific antigen. That receptor is called the idiotype.

Idec's anti-idiotype antibodies recognize these receptors on Bcell tumors and bind to them. Once they are attached, theycause the suppression of those malignant cells.

In February 1990, Tokyo-based Institute of Immunology Co. Ltd.purchased a 20 percent stake in Idec in exchange for rights inJapan and certain Asian countries to therapeutic anddiagnostic products for B cell lymphoma.

"The Institute always anticipated seeking a co-developmentpartner, and they helped us find Zenyaku," said Clifford Orent,senior vice president and chief operating officer at Idec. Allthree companies are privately held.

The Institute will focus on diagnostic products, while Zenyakuwill concentrate on therapeutic applications.

Specifid to treat B-cell lymphoma is in Phase III clinicaltrials in the United States. Idec, based in La Jolla, Calif., willmarket Specifid in the United States.

In May, Idec licensed exclusive marketing rights in Europe toBoehringer Ingelheim International GmbH to treat B celllymphoma.

-- Karen Bernstein BioWorld Staff

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.