Date: 2015-11-11
Type of information: Licensing agreement
Compound: plasminogen
Company: ProMetic Life Sciences (Canada) Omnio (Sweden)
Therapeutic area:
Type agreement: licensing
Action mechanism: protein. Plasminogen is a naturally occurring protein that is synthesized by the liver and circulates in the blood. Activated plasminogen, plasmin, is a fundamental component of the fibrinolytic system and is the main enzyme involved in the lysis of blood clots and clearance of extravasated fibrin. Plasminogen is therefore vital in wound healing, cell migration, tissue remodeling, angiogenesis and embryogenesis. ProMetic’s plasminogen has received orphan drug designation in both the US and Europe.
Disease: hard-to-treat wounds including diabetic foot ulcers
Details: * On November 11, 2015, ProMetic Life Sciences announced that it has entered into a strategic agreement with Omnio AB. The agreement exclusively provides ProMetic with a unique and competitive intellectual property position as well as a comprehensive proprietary understanding of the use of plasminogen in the field of hard-to-treat wounds. Under the agreement, ProMetic has secured exclusive license rights to both issued and pending patents for the use of plasminogen related to wound healing. The agreement also provides ProMetic access to extensive preclinical data as well as unique proof of concept efficacy data in patients. Hard-to-treat wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers affect millions of patients in the United States and represent annual incremental healthcare costs as high as US$13 Billion. Studies have indicated that diabetics have a lifetime risk as high as 25% of developing foot ulcers and annual incident cases are cited to range from 3% to 10%.
The agreement also provides for the creation of a center of excellence in Umea, Sweden to capitalize on the vast experience of Dr Tor Ny, founder of Omnio AB and Professor at the University of Umea. The two companies have entered into a long-term research collaboration that will further the understanding of the role of plasminogen in multiple medical conditions such as diabetic foot ulcers. The research collaboration will be funded by ProMetic and all arising intellectual property will be owned by ProMetic.
Financial terms: The financial terms of this agreement were not disclosed.
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