Baylor College of Medicine and Advantagene Inc. have entered into an agreement to allow Advantagene to license the exclusive, worldwide rights to intellectual property related to a novel cancer immunotherapy.
Encinitas, California and Houston, Texas – April 30, 2007 - Baylor College of Medicine and Advantagene Inc., a US biotechnology company with offices in Massachusetts and California, announced today that they have entered into an agreement to allow Advantagene to license the exclusive, worldwide rights to intellectual property related to a novel cancer immunotherapy. The technology concerns methods of treating cancer by transferring genes to the tumor cells that make them highly sensitive to approved anti-herpes drugs. These drugs are then used to kill the tumor cells. It was initially developed by Baylor researchers, Drs. Savio Woo and Shu-Hsia Chen in the 1990’s. Subsequently, Dr. Aguilar-Cordova continued research in this area and Baylor and Advantagene jointly developed the use of this therapy in combination with radiation therapy for the treatment of solid tumors. Advantagene is now in clinical development with this project for multiple indications. The financial terms of the license agreement were not disclosed.
Advantagene's core technology is called Gene Mediated Cytotoxic Immunotherapy (GMCIIM), as the local killing of tumor cells leads to a strong anti-tumor immune response throughout the body. This immune response is believed to be the mechanism for the reductions in tumor recurrence observed in clinical trials. Advantagene is currently using the technology in trials for prostate cancer, brain cancer and pancreatic cancer.
Estuardo Aguilar-Cordova, CEO of Advantagene commented: "We are delighted to solidify our access to this technology and finalize to this agreement. We look forward to a fruitful partnership with Baylor College of Medicine and to developing drugs based on this technology that will improve clinical outcomes for cancer patients."
About Baylor College of Medicine:
Baylor College of Medicine, one of the nation's top academic health sciences centers, is committed to advancing human health through the integration of patient care, research, education and community service. Baylor College of Medicine, the only private medical school in the Greater Southwest, was founded in 1900 and is today an internationally respected medical and research institution known for excellence in education, research and patient care. Today, the College consistently ranks among the top of the country's 125 medical schools. For 2007, U.S. News & World Report has again ranked the College No. 10 on its list of top medical schools. BCM also is listed 11th among all U.S. medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, and No. 1 for research expenditures in biological science by the National Science Foundation. Located in the Texas Medical Center, a 700-acre complex housing 42 member institutions, BCM has affiliations with seven teaching hospitals, each with a national and international reputation for medical excellence. The College has total research support exceeding $343 million, with $296 million from federal sources, and more than 90 research and patient-care centers and units. Currently, BCM trains more than 3,000 medical, graduate, nurse anesthesia, and physician assistant students, as well as residents and post-doctoral fellows. For more information, please visit: www.bcm.edu.
About Advantagene:
Advantagene is a privately held Delaware corporation with operations in Waban, Massachusetts and Encinitas, California. Advantagene's core mission is to develop therapies to increase efficacy and reduce morbidity from the treatment of cancer. It is currently raising funds to finance pivotal trials to gain approval for its biological drugs.
For more information, contact:
Douglas Jolly Ph.D.
President and COO
Advantagene Inc.
382 Sunset Drive, Suite 100
Encinitas
CA 92024
tel: 760 943 8981
fax: 760 753 2316
email: djolly@advantagene.com
or visit
www.advantagene.com