Collaborations Between Biotechnology Companies And Government/Nonprofit Institutions: Nov. 16, 2005-March 1, 2006
Company* | University/ | Type Of | Product Area | Details (Date) |
Acceptys Inc.* | University of Wurzburg (Germany) | Research agreement | University researchers will further characterize about 650 anticancer human antibodies | The deal followed one in which Acceptys acquired rights to develop antibodies from OncoMab GmbH, which was formed from university research (12/23) |
Accentia Bio- | Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research | Option agreement | The option covers a method of using anti-fungals applied intranasally for treating chronic sinusitis | Accentia has exclusive rights to negotiate a license until Dec. 6, 2006; the method covers all anti-fungals except amphotericin B (12/15) |
ACE BioSciences | Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation | Collaboration | ACE will support characterization of a BCG- based tuberculosisvaccine | ACE will identify and characterize proteins in the second-generation vaccine Aeras is developing; terms were not disclosed (12/19) |
Affymetrix Inc. | Duke University | Collaboration | Five-year deal to analyze genomic information across large patient samples | Duke researchers will use Affymetrix microarray technology to develop new applications for translational research projects; the initial focus is on cancer and cardiovascular disease (1/9) |
Affymetrix Inc. | Imperial College London and the Medical Research Council (UK) | Collaboration | To discover genetic variations associated with cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease | College and MRC researchers will use Affymetrix's GeneChip technology in the deal, which is part of Affymetrix's translational medicine program (12/14) |
Amorfix Life | University of Toronto (Canada) | License agreement | Amorfix got worldwide rights to targets on the protein superoxide dismutase-1 | Amorfix also got a five-year option to acquire the technology, which will be tested against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases (2/2) |
Aphios Corp.* | Boston University Medical School | License agreement | Aphios got rights to a nontoxic vitamin D analogue | The compound is being developed for prostate cancer; terms of the deal were not disclosed (12/13) |
Artemis | Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation Unit (UK) | License agreement | Artemis got rights to use and distribute certain genetically engineered mouse models | Artemis will distribute the kinase models to companies and instituions and can use them in its programs; terms were not disclosed (12/5) |
AvidBiotics | University of California at San Diego | License agreement | AvidBiotics got worldwide rights to protein scaffold technology | The technology centers on a ligand-binding protein scaffold that accommodates 10 trillion sequences (2/23) |
Biocortech* | Columbia University | Collaboration | Deal for research involving the mRNA editing of the serotonergic receptor | They also plan to identify therapeutic targets; the focus is on treating depression (2/23) |
Bioheart Inc.* | Cleveland Clinic | License agreement | Bioheart got rights to technology related to the repair of scarred heart tissue damaged from a heart attack | The patent applications cover methods of repairing tissue by transplanting muscle stem cells that express therapeutic proteins capable of recruiting other stem cells to the area (2/20) |
BioLineRx | The Technion Research and Development Foundations (Israel) | License agreement | BioLineRx got rights to the antibiotic candidate BL-2060 | The antibacterial peptide is designed to kill bacteria without causing hemolysis; terms were not disclosed (1/16) |
BioLineRx | Tel Aviv University (Israel) | License agreement | BioLineRx got rights to BL-2050, an agent for treating peripheral vascular disease | The agent acts through a non- VEGF pathway; terms of the deal were not disclosed (1/16) |
BioVeris Corp. | University of Massachusetts at Amherst | License agreement | BioVeris exercised its option to exclusively license a vaccine candidate for Chlamydia | UMA gets a $75,000 license fee and potential milestone payments, as well as royalties on any resulting sales (12/6) |
BioVeris Corp. | Jewish General Hospital (Canada) | License agreement | BioVeris got exclusive rights to use a JGH database containing infectious disease information | The database has demographic data and the serologic status on an immigrant population; BioVeris paid a $50,000 license fee and will sponsor $400,000 of research at JGH over three years (11/21) |
Calando | National Cancer Institute | Collaboration | The deal focuses on developing RNAi therapeutics for treating neuroblastoma | They will share responsibilities in the research program, which is expected to run at least three years; a CRADA covering the deal was being finalized (2/3) |
Callisto | University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center | License agreement | Callisto got rights to a new class of cancer drugs called Degrasyns | The agents are designed to induce tumor cell death; terms of the deal were not disclosed (1/25) |
Can-Fite | National Institutes of Health | CRADA | Deal to identify agonists of the adenosine A3 receptor | The goal is to identify agents for treating autoimmune diseases and cancer (1/24) |
Cellegy | Contraceptive Research and Development Organization | License agreement | CONRAD licensed rights to Cellegy's entire microbicide pipeline | The nonexclusive agreement covers the developing world; products include Savvy, UC-781 and Cyanovirin-N (2/1) |
Cel-Sci Corp. | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases | Cooperative agreement | Deal to test Cel-Sci's anti- infective drug CEL-1000 in animal models against the H5N1 avian flu virus | The agent is believed to activate immune responses; terms of the deal were not disclosed (12/5) |
Cepheid Inc. | Public Health Agency of Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory | Collaboration | Deal to develop in-field nucleic acid assays for Ebola, Marburg and Lassa fever viruses | They will use Cepheid's Gene- Xpert technology in the effort; Cepheid will have rights to resulting technology (2/14) |
Ceragenix | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | CRADA | Deal to evaluate Ceragenix's Ceracide for preventing bacterial biofilm growth on medical devices | The antimicrobial coating will be evaluated in the CDC's Biofilm Reactor; terms of the deal were not disclosed (2/8) |
Chemokine | University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center | Agreement | The cancer center will conduct tests of Chemokine's CTCE- 908 product | The agent will be studied for its ability to inhibit metastasis of a human breast cancer in preclinical models (2/21) |
Chemokine | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute | Material transfer agreement | Deal under which Chemokine will supply its CTCE-9908 product to Dana-Farber | The institute will investigate the drug's ability to inhibit growth of human brain cancer cells in pre-clinical experiments (2/16) |
Chemokine | National Cancer Institute | Material transfer agreement | Deal under which Chemokine will supply its CTCE-9908 product to the NCI | The NCI will investigate the role of CTCE- 908 in the pathology of primary effusion lymphoma; terms were not disclosed (2/13) |
Ciphergen | University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston | Collaboration | Deal to apply Ciphergen technologies to UTMB clinical samples for liver disease research | They intend to develop a diagnostic blood test for measuring the progress of liver disease; Ciphergen gets first right to license resulting products (11/21) |
Clinical Data Inc. | University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute | Collaboration | Deal to perform a metabolomics study in lung cancer patients | The goal of the pilot study is to evaluate the suitability of meta-bolomics for cancer detection and screening (1/12) |
CombiMatrix | U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory | CRADA | Deal to develop a miniaturized device for monitoring the health status of military personnel | They will use CombiMatrix's CustomArray technology to develop a device capable of analyzing multiple biomarkers (2/23) |
CombiMatrix | University of Colorado Health Sciences Center | Agreement | Deal under which university researchers can purchase microarray technology | The nonexclusive deal was made under CombiMatrix's CombiCore access program; terms were not disclosed (1/6) |
CombiMatrix | University of California at Los Angeles | Collaboration | Deal to develop a gene-based test for the diagnosis of malignant melanoma | UCLA researchers also will provide patient samples for the development and validation phase of the project (12/7) |
Corautus | Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center | Agreement | Corautus will provide its VEGF-2 product for a trial being run by CSEMC | The Phase I trial, funded by an NIH grant, is focused on critical limb ischemia (1/11) |
Crucell NV | Walter Reed Army Institute of Research | CRADA | Deal to evaluate Crucell's PER.C6 technology for development of vaccines against certain flaviviruses | WRAIR will evaluate the technology in vaccines against dengue fever and Japanese encephalitis; terms were not disclosed (12/22) |
Crucell NV | Saskatchewan Research Council (Canada) | Manufacturing agreement | SRC got rights to sell PER.C6 cell line services in Canada; SRC also got a license to the technology | The services are for manufacturing gene therapy and vaccine products; Crucell gets a license fee, annual maintenance fees and royalties on sales (12/22) |
CytoCore Inc. | University Hospitals of Cleveland | License agreement | CytoCore got rights to a drug delivery system | The system is designed to allow application of approved drugs to existing cervical lesions (2/23) |
CytoCore Inc. | University Hospitals of Cleveland | License agreement | CytoCore got rights to the cancer biomarker CGI5 | Terms of the deal on the apoptosis marker were not disclosed (2/17) |
CytRx Corp. | University of Massachusetts Medical School | Expanded agreement | The new deal covers drug targets that regulate insulin activity in fat cells | CytRx licensed the targets, which were discovered in an existing collaboration between it and UMMS (12/15) |
Eurand | Universities of Milan and Sassari (both in Italy) | License agreement | Eurand got an option to develop a class of analgesic compounds | They will collaborate to develop and evaluate the five compounds for the treatment of pain (1/24) |
Exelixis Plant | Washington State University Research Foundation | License agreement | Exelixis will use its technologies to develop methods for producing paclitaxel and taxane intermediates | Exelixis has advanced developments of its taxane cell factory program under a previous license from WSURF; terms were not disclosed (12/28) |
454 Life | The Broad Institute | Collaboration | The institute will conduct genomic studies relating to the genetic basis for complex diseases | The institute will use a genome sequencer system from 454 in the effort; terms of the deal were not disclosed (12/19) |
Galapagos NV | Cancer Research Technology (UK) | Collaboration | Galapagos will provide medicinal chemistry services for CRT anti-cancer drug programs | CRT will fund the work for four scientists at Galapagos' service division, BioFocus, through 2006 (1/19) |
Gammacan | Tel Hashomer Medical Research Infrastructure and treatment | Research and license agreement | To explore mechanisms of action of IVIg and its uses in cancer | Terms of the deal were not disclosed (12/20) |
GeoPharma Inc.* | University of Florida | License agreement | GeoPharma got rights to a compound for treating primary or idiopathic pulmonary hypertension | The compound is a synthetic peptide in preclinical testing; terms of the deal were not disclosed (1/31) |
Hemispherx | Canadian Department of National Defence | Research agreement | To evaluate antiviral efficacy of the company's Ampligen and Alferon products | Defence R&D Canada is testing the products against influenza in an effort focused on the bird flu (11/29) |
HemoBioTech | Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center | Sponsored research agreement | The agreement centers on the manufacture of clinical-grade HemoTech | They entered the third-stage of an agreement on the blood substitute product; terms were not disclosed (1/18) |
Humanetics | Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine Inc. | License agreement | Deal to develop the oral agent BIO300 for protecting the immune system against radiation exposure | Humanetics assumed responsibility for continued testing, development and commercialization of the product; terms were not disclosed (12/8) |
Humanetics | Mount Sinai School of Medicine | License agreement | Humanetics got rights to NIC5-15, a preclinical agent being developed for Alzheimer's disease | They also agreed to a deal under which Mount Sinai will test the agent in humans; terms were not disclosed (12/1) |
Hybrigenics | Genethon (France) | Collaboration | Genethon will use Hybrigenics technology in research in muscle cell proteins and their interaction | Hybrigenics will use screening and protein interaction mapping software in the effort; Genethon will own resulting data; terms were not disclosed (12/21) |
Illumina Inc. | Center for Inherited Disease Research | Collaboration | CIDR will use Ilumina genotyping technology in a pilot study in Type II diabetes | One goal is to evaluate the technology for possible adoption as the standard platform for CIDR's genome-wide association service (1/11) |
Immtech | Tulane University | License agreement | Immtech got rights to a class of aminoquinoline drugs for treating and diagnosing infectious diseases | The lead compound, AQ13, is targeted for the treatment of, and as a prophylaxis for, malaria; terms of the exclusive deal were not disclosed (2/10) |
Immusol Inc.* | Baylor College of Medicine | License agreement | Immusol got rights to an oncolytic viral therapy that uses herpes simplex viruses against cancer | Terms of the exclusive, worldwide deal were not disclosed (2/1) |
Innovive | Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center | License agreement | Innovive got rights to a WT1 heteroclitic peptide immuno- therapeutic, INNO-305 | Phase I trials are expected to start in the first half of 2006; the agent targets most leukemias and certain solid tumors (1/9) |
Invitrogen | Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy | Collaboration | To identify targets linked to causes and symptoms of spinal muscular atrophy | Invitrogen will use its protein microarray technology in the intial stages of the deal; terms were not disclosed (12/21) |
Lumera Corp. | Medical University of South Carolina | Agreements | Deal to co-develop a protein chip aimed at the drug discovery and toxicology market | Also, letter of intent calls for MUSC to purchase a Proteomic-Processor Biosensor instrument; terms were not disclosed (2/6) |
Lumera Corp. | Harvard Medical School | Collaboration | Deal to develop a next- generation silicon chip substrate | The goal is to develop 10,000- spot very high density protein arrays (1/9) |
Medicure Inc. | Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine | Collaboration expansion | Deal to conduct further preclinical studies of Medicure's antithrombotic agents | The goal is to advance a lead clinical candidate into human studies; terms of the deal were not disclosed (1/5) |
MedImmune Inc. (MEDI) | Burnham Institute for Medical Research | License agreement | Deal to develop peptides targeting the EphA and EphB subfamilies of receptor tyrosine kinases | MedImmune would develop and market any resulting products; Burnham gets an up- front fee and potential milestone and royalty payments (12/8) |
MedImmune | Mount Sinai School of Medicine | License agreement | MedImmune got exclusive rights to certain reverse genetics technology | Mount Sinai gets an up-front fee and potential milestone and royalty payments; the technology will be used to improve the efficiency of producing new influezna vaccine strains (12/7) |
Memory | The Stanley Medical Research Institute | Funding support | The institute will help fund trials of Memory's MEM 1003 for treating bipolar disorder | The neuronal L-type calcium channel modulator is nearing Phase IIa trials in that indication; Memory is eligible to receive up to $3.2M in the deal (12/20) |
Metabolon | University of Michigan | Collaboration | They will work to discover disease biomarkers for prostate cancer | The deal marks Metabolon's first project as part of the NCI's Early Detection Research Network; the project is funded by an NCI grant (11/30) |
MicroIslet | Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research | Supply agreement | Mayo will supply pathogen- free pigs to MicroIslet for use in development of a product for diabetes | Pig islets will be used in the MicroIslet-P product; MicroIslet also got rights to use the pigs for research and treatment in diabetes under the long-term deal (11/22) |
Minster | University of Copenhagen and the Danish Headache Centre | Collaboration | Deal to investigate the use of tonabersat in the prevention of migraine with aura | A planned Phase II trial is part of a broader deal to investigate the mechanisms underlying migraine (1/13) |
Morphotek | National Cancer Institute | License agreement | Morphotek got rights to an antibody targeting mesothelin- expressing cancers | The rights cover diagnostic and therapeutics applications; initial trials of the antibody, MORAb-009, were planned for early in 2006 (1/3) |
MultiCell | Columbia University Medical Center | Research agreement | Deal to perform in vivo tests on an agent for protecting against retinal ganglion cell death | MultiCell will fund research and have an exclusive option to resulting discoveries; the focus is on ocular neurodegenerative diseases (12/1) |
NanoMed | University of Kentucky | Option agreement | NanoMed will evaluate raspberry gels for treating and preventing oral epithelial dysplasia | NanoMed intends to start trials in humans; Ohio State University also was a party to the exclusive option agreement (12/13) |
NovaThera Ltd.* | Imperial College London and The Texas Heart Institute | Collaboration | They established a program to scale up supply of human heart cells for clinical trials | Using bioprocessor technology, the group intends to develop processes for the practical manufacture of cells for medical uses (12/12) |
Novavax Inc. | University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine | Collaboration | Deal to evaluate the efficacy of virus-like particle influenza vaccines | They also will test Novasomes as an adjuvant; studies in humans were expected to begin later in 2006 (2/15) |
Novelix | University of Southern California | License agreement | Novelix got exclusive rights to a group of potential cancer therapeutics | The lead compound, NVX-144, is expected to enter clinical trials late in 2006; terms of the deal were not disclosed (12/19) |
Open Biosystems | Four cancer centers | Agreement | The centers adopted the company's short hairpin RNA technology for use in cancer research | Duke University, the National Cancer Institute, Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Fox Chase Cancer Center adopted the technology (12/19) |
Orion Genomics* | University of Glasgow (UK) | Collaboration | To develop epigenetic biomarkers for tests to screen for cancer and to help guide treatment | They will use Orion's methylation technologies to identify biomarkers in cancers of the lung, breast and ovaries (1/20) |
Orion Integrated | Virginia Bioinformatics Institute | Agreement | Deal to develop diagnostic methods for certain viral pathogens | Data on encephalic and hemorrhagic viruses from VBI's PathPort project will be integrated into Orion's computational tool (2/7) |
Peregrine | Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center | Manufacturing agreement | Peregrine subsidiary Avid Bioservices Inc. will perform manufacturing services for SKCC | Avid will provide services related to an antibody initially being developed for lung cancer (12/22) |
PharmaFrontiers | Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (China) | License agreement | PharmaFrontiers got worldwide rights to an autologous T-cell vaccine | The vaccine targets rheumatoid arthritis; SIBS gets an up-front payment and royalties on any resulting sales(1/17) |
Point | National Cancer Institute | Collaboration | Deal to evaluate Point's talabostat in pediatric patients with solid tumors | A Phase I trial is being planned to evaluate safety and dosing of the oral agent with chemotherapy (2/14) |
PsychoGenics | Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation | Agreement extension | Deal to establish and behaviorally phenotype transgenic in vivo models of SMA | They also plan to test potential therapeutics using those models (2/24) |
QBI Life | University of Wisconsin and the University of Helsinki (Finland) | Partnership | Deal to develop a high- throughput molecular screening platform for membrane protein targets | The work is being funded by a $175,000 grant under the National Institutes of Health's Roadmap for Medical Research program (1/19) |
Rexahn | University of Maryland | Collaboration | Deal to develop drugs for treating cancer and central nervous system diseases | Rexahn and UM's Center for Nanomedicine and Cellular Delivery will use nanotechnologies in the effort (2/23) |
Samaritan | Georgetown University | License agreement | Samaritan got exclusive rights to the use of spirostenols to treat mitochondrial disorders | Terms of the deal were not disclosed (2/2) |
Savient | University of California at San Diego | License termination | Savient ended a deal covering development of Prosaptide | The decision was made following a failed Phase II trial in patients with HIV-associated peripheral neuropathy (12/22) |
Stem Cell | University of Edinburgh | Technology transfer agreement | Deal to continue their collaboration in stem cell research | They have collaborated since 1994; SCS retains all licenses issued under the previous deal (1/31) |
Transgene SA | International AIDS Vaccine Initiative | Manufacturing agreement | Transgene will manufacture an AIDS vaccine candidate for use in clinical trials | Transgene will use its viral vectors process in the effort; terms of the 18-month contract were not disclosed (11/17) |
20/20 | University of Kentucky | License agreement | 20/20 got rights to a a blood test for non-small-cell lung cancer | 20/20 intends to create a screening test for the early detection of lung cancer based on biomarkers identified by UK (12/15) |
Vertex | Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Inc. | Collaboration extension | Vertex will continue research on "corrector" compounds that restore the function of the CFTR protein | CFFT will provide another $22M to Vertex through early 2008; the original deal began in 2000; CFFT would get royalties on any resulting sales (1/12) |
Vical Inc. | Stanford, Harvard and Yale universities | License agreements | The universities got nonexclusive access to Vical's DNA delivery technology | The academic licenses allow free use of the technology; Vical would have the option to license resulting applications (1/24) |
ViroPharma | Hines VA Hospital | License agreement | ViroPharma got rights to non-toxigenic strains of C. difficile to treat and prevent C. difficile-associated disease | ViroPharma's initial focus is on preventing recurrence of CDAD following Vancocin treatment (2/27) |
Viropro Inc. | Biotechnology Research Institute (Canada) | Collaboration | Deal to develop production procedures for biological materials and drugs | The intent is to market recombinant proteins and a new vaccination platform (12/1) |
Xechem | Virginia Commonwealth University | License agreement | Xechem got rights to a five-membered hetero-cyclic anti-sickling compound | The compound will be studied for treating sickle cell disease; terms of the exclusive license were not disclosed (12/9) |
Xencor Inc.* | University of Cambridge (UK) | License agreement | Xencor got rights to technology for creating monoclonal antibodies with enhanced potency | The technology includes specific Fc variants that complement Xencor's XmAb engineered Fc domains; terms of the exclusive deal were not disclosed (12/14) |
Zenyth | Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (Germany) | License agreement | Zenyth got rights to antibodies that target the receptor for granulocyte-colony stimulating factor | Zenyth also got access to antibodies and reagents developed at the institute's Melbourne branch (2/28) |
| Notes: | ||||
| This chart does not include grants or contract awards, or agreements between biotech companies and clinical trial centers. | ||||
| * Denotes privately held company. | ||||
| @ Some institutions listed have for-profit components. They are located in the U.S. unless otherwise noted. | ||||
| CRADA = Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. | ||||
| Unless otherwise noted, shares are traded on the Nasdaq exchange. | ||||
| AIM = Alternative Investment Market; AMEX = American Stock Exchange; ASX = Australian Stock Exchange; CDNX = Canadian Venture Exchange; OTC BB = Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board; TEL = Tel Aviv Stock Exchange; TSE = Toronto Stock Exchange. | ||||