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Cancer research pioneers establish new joint venture
17/05/2006
“The teams at LICR and the University of Helsinki are world leaders in their fields.”
At the end of April 2006, Circadian Technologies Limited, an organisation providing management and funding for the development and commercialisation of Australian biomedical research, announced that in collaboration with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR), one of the world’s leading cancer research organizations, and Licentia Ltd, the commercial arm of the University of Helsinki, it has formed Vegenics Limited, a new company to develop and commercialise the intellectual property and technology held by LICR and Licentia in respect of molecules known as vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF). According to a statement, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors are a family of proteins that play an important role in promoting the growth of new blood vessels and the maintenance of existing blood vessels. According to Circadian, the approach of inhibiting VEGF and thus restricting blood and nutrient supply to tumours has potential in the treatment of cancer.
In its press release, Circadian said it will make an initial equity injection of USD 4 million into Vegenics, which will be 50% owned by Circadian and 50% by LICR and Licentia. Vegenics will initially focus on developing peptide and antibody antagonists to two forms of VEGF (VEGF-C and VEGF-D) as anti-tumour agents. The licence and shareholder agreements between the parties are subject to patent and legal due diligence being completed by Vegenics by the end of June 2006.
More than 50 granted patents and more than 400 pending patent applications
Commenting on the background to the announcement, Circadian said that in February 2004, Avastin® (a therapeutic antibody designed by Genentech Inc to inhibit VEGF-A) received FDA approval as a first-line combination therapy for patients with metastatic cancer of the colon or rectum. In January 2006, Genentech announced that US sales of Avastin in 2005 totalled USD 1,100 million, up from USD 500 million in 2004.
In the last ten years, according to Circadian, LICR and Licentia have developed an extensive patent portfolio covering VEGF-C and VEGF-D and antagonists to these molecules arising from discoveries made by LICR Melbourne Branch scientists, Associate Professor Steven Stacker and Associate Professor Marc Achen and Professor Kari Alitalo of the University of Helsinki. Circadian also said that LICR and Licentia have exclusively licensed to Vegenics all of their jointly-owned technology covering VEGF-C and VEGF-D antagonists as therapeutic and diagnostic agents, subject to Vegenics raising USD 16 million of new equity within 24 months and the rights of existing licensees. The licensed patent family consists of more than 50 granted patents in the USA, Europe, Japan and Australia and more than 400 pending patent applications worldwide.
Translating basic and important discoveries into products that benefit cancer patients
Commenting on the announcement, Edward A. McDermott Jr, President and SEO of LICR, said “We are very excited by the opportunity to work with one of the pioneers of the Australian biotechnology industry in a close and collaborative manner. We look forward to advancing LICR’s cancer discovery programme to potential clinical development. The Circadian model, which is now represented in the Vegenics collaboration, is one that has great appeal to research discovery organizations such as ours who need vehicles to translate basic and important discoveries into products that benefit cancer patients.”
Dr Timo Tormala, CEO of Licentia Ltd, said “The work undertaken by Prof Kari Alitalo and his colleagues in Helsinki and Drs Steven Stacker and Marc Achen in Melbourne is recognized as being seminal to the field of angiogenesis. We are delighted that we can now move to translate these discoveries into clinical candidates through the Vegenics collaboration.”
Leon Serry, Managing Director of Circadian, said “Circadian has, over its 21 years, been totally committed to working with the excellence of the medical research community in early-stage discoveries. The teams at LICR and the University of Helsinki are world leaders in their fields who share our passion to provide better and safer medicines for cancer patients. We believe that targeting tumour angiogenesis, as we will do in the Vegenics development plan, may provide better treatments in cancer therapy in the forthcoming years.”
LICR, Licentia, Circadian
The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research is a global non-profit organization committed to improving the understanding and control of cancer through integrated laboratory and clinical discover. LICR employs more than 800 scientists in branches throughout North and South America, Europe and Australia.
Licentia Oy commercialises technologies with IP protection originating from Finnish research institutes and universities, either through licensing or start-up companies. Since its establishment in 2001, Licentia has concluded more than 70 licence and related contracts which have generated millions of euros for universities and inventors.
Circadian Technologies Limited was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1985, and aims to identify high potential scientific research projects from within Australian universities and research institutes, focusing on opportunities that have the potential to address large markets or significant unmet medical needs.
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