OXFORD
BIOMEDICA
Oxford Biomedica Signs Deal with Nycomed Amersham Imaging
Oxford,
and Amersham UK - 20 March 2000: Oxford BioMedica announced
today that it has signed an agreement with Nycomed Amersham
plc ("Nycomed Amersham") to develop Oxford BioMedica's technology
for use in imaging of tumours.
Prompt
and accurate diagnosis is vital for the effective treatment
of all cancers. However, certain cancers, such as lung cancer,
are difficult to image even with currently available techniques,
and therefore agents that assist in the imaging of tumours
may have important applications.
This collaboration
between Oxford BioMedica and Nycomed Amersham is seeking to
develop a novel imaging agent suitable for detecting a wide
range of tumour types, assisting in the diagnostic process,
and therefore speeding the commencement of restorative or
palliative treatment.
Under
the terms of the license agreement, Oxford BioMedica will
supply antibody fragments (scFv's) to its tumour associated
antigen, OBA-1. Nycomed Amersham will evaluate a radiolabelled
version of the scFv as an imaging agent.
This imaging
agent could be applicable to many types of cancer because
it would target OBA-1, a marker that is known to exist on
the majority of human tumours. There is no equivalent imaging
agent on the market at present, hence the adoption of this
agent could open up a substantial new market in imaging.
Professor
Alan Kingsman, Oxford BioMedica's Chief Executive, commented:
"This is the second deal with the pharmaceutical industry
arising from our novel tumour-combating antigens. Like the
deal signed with Virbac SA last month, this collaboration
with Nycomed Amersham allows Oxford BioMedica to share in
revenue streams outside its core gene therapy markets.
"Nycomed
Amersham is the world leader in imaging with worldwide manufacturing,
marketing, sales and distribution activities. It is an ideal
partner for Oxford BioMedica, and if the imaging programme
is successful, it may lead to our developing therapeutic applications.
In addition an imaging product could be used to select patients
for treatment with the tumour vaccine TroVaxT which is currently
being developed by Oxford BioMedica." |
