Date: 2013-05-02
Type of information: Licensing agreement
Compound: Lumi4® bi-functional chelator technology
Company: Algeta (Norway) Lumiphore (USA)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Type agreement: licensing
Action mechanism: Lumiphore\'s Lumi4® technology is based on a class of bi-functional chelators that forms a novel cage structure surrounding and tightly binding thorium-227, which can then be covalently attached to a range of tumor-targeting molecules, such as monoclonal antibodies, to create potential cancer therapeutics.
Disease:
Details: * On May 2, 2013, Algeta, a company focused on the development of novel targeted cancer therapeutics, has announced it has exercised its option to take an exclusive worldwide license to patented Lumi4® bi-functional chelator technology from Lumiphore and has extended the collaboration to include additional chelator families. These technologies are currently being developed by Algeta to conjugate thorium-227 to tumor-targeting molecules to create Targeted Thorium Conjugates (TTCs). Algeta originally signed an option/license agreement with Lumiphore around Lumi4® technology in 2010 and subsequently extended it to enable further evaluation to be conducted. This stage of evaluation has now been completed successfully.
In parallel with this license agreement, Algeta has also been granted a license by Lumiphore covering a second class of bi-functional chelators that bind strongly to thorium-227, with the option of including a further selection of compounds within that license if future exploratory work confirms their promise.
Algeta\'s TTC strategy is based on gaining access to carefully selected tumor-targeting molecules, via in-licensing, collaboration or via third parties, to which it links thorium-227 thereby creating potential new therapeutics. Algeta\'s disclosed TTC programs include collaborations with Sanofi and Ablynx; programs based on CD22- (hematological cancer) and HER2-targeting (breast/ovarian cancer) molecules in-licensed from Immunomedics and Affibody, respectively; and a fully owned TTC program targeting hematological cancers. Algeta is advancing its preclinical pipeline with the aim of entering its first TTC into clinical trials in 2014.
Financial terms: Under the terms of the agreements, Algeta will pay Lumiphore the option exercise fee for the Lumi4® chelators, and a signature and option fee for the second class of chelators, plus development and sales milestones and a royalty on product sales. Further financial details have not been disclosed.
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