Business
ARIUS Research Licenses Antibody to Genentech
ARIUS Research Licenses Antibody to Genentech.
About this update from Affinity Metals Corp
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\nTSX Venture Exchange: ARI\n\nTORONTO, March 22 /CNW/ - ARIUS Research Inc. (TSX-VE: ARI) today\nannounced that it has licensed to Genentech, Inc. (NYSE: DNA) rights to one of\nARIUS' novel anti-cancer antibodies and others in the same family for\ndevelopment in human disease.\nUnder the terms of the agreement, ARIUS will receive an upfront licensing\nfee and may receive milestone payments based on progress through clinical\ndevelopment as well as royalties on net sales of any products resulting from\nthe collaboration. Genentech will assume the responsibility and costs of\ndevelopment and commercialization. Financial terms were not disclosed.\n\"Out-licensing one of our lead programs to Genentech achieves a number of\nkey objectives for the company and represents a significant milestone under\nthe ARIUS business model,\" said Dr. David Young, President of ARIUS Research\nInc. \"Genentech has demonstrated extensive scientific and commercialization\nexpertise with antibodies for cancer and ARIUS is optimistic that, down the\nroad, patients will have more and better treatment options arising from this\ncollaboration.\"\nThe agreement represents the first anti-cancer antibody developed from\nARIUS' FunctionFIRST(TM) platform to be out-licensed. Antibodies discovered\nthrough ARIUS' proprietary technology have demonstrated anti-tumor activity in\nanimal models of a number of human cancers and have been shown to recognize\nimportant cancer targets.\nCancer affects approximately 1.55 million new patients each year in North\nAmerica (sources: American Cancer Society, Canadian Cancer Society). ARIUS is\nresearching treatments for the most common cancers and those with significant\nunmet medical need. There are eight antibodies currently available for\ntreating cancer with a worldwide market value close of US$6.3 billion in 2005.\n\nAbout ARIUS Research\n\nARIUS Research Inc. is a biotechnology company dedicated to personalizing\ncancer therapy through the discovery and development of novel anticancer\nmonoclonal antibodies (MAbs). Established in 1999, ARIUS has built a\nproprietary technology platform, FunctionFIRST(TM), that rapidly identifies\npowerful MAbs targeting a variety of cancer indications. This antibody\ngeneration engine has enabled ARIUS to assemble a growing pipeline, which is\nused for commercial collaborations ...