TyRx Pharma, Inc., announces the signing of exclusive license agreement with Baylor College of Medicine and The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Monmouth Junction, NJ, (January 30, 2006) -- TyRx Pharma, Inc. today announced
that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Baylor College of Medicine
and The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The License grants TyRx
the use of three product patents and associated technologies developed and jointly owned
by the two institutions in order to develop innovative Cardiovascular and Surgical
medical devices. In combination with its own patent protected tyrosine-derived
polyarylate polymers, TyRx expects to leverage the Baylor and M. D. Anderson
intellectual property assets to market a new series of antimicrobial coated medical
implants designed to address the problem of post-surgical nosocomial infection.
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, approximately one million cases of
nosocomial infection that occur each year in the United States are associated with
medical implants (N Engl J Med 2004;350:1422-9). The law firm of Brown Rudnick
Berlack Israels LLP represented TyRx Pharma in the transaction. Specific terms of the
agreement were not disclosed.
"This agreement demonstrates TyRx's ability to build mutually beneficial licensing
relationships with world-class organizations," said TyRx Chief Executive Officer, Bill
Edelman, "and provides an extraordinary opportunity to maximize the potential for postsurgical
control of infection associated with medical implants, such as surgical meshes
and cardiac rhythm devices. TyRx has taken another step toward building a franchise of
combination medical devices and drug delivery products using patent protected tyrosinederived
polyarylate polymers. The tyrosine-derived polyarylate families of polymers
provide excellent biocompatibility, tissue growth surfaces and depot for drug release that
can range from fast to slow depending of the therapeutic need."
This notice follows TyRx's January 16, 2006 announcement that the company filed a
510(k) application with the FDA for its new surgical mesh coated with their novel
polyarylate bioresorbable polymer containing two antimicrobial agents. The TyRx
antimicrobial-coated surgical mesh is indicated for the repair of hernias and other
abdominal fascial deficiencies requiring the addition of a reinforcing or bridging material
to obtain the desired surgical result. The antimicrobial surgical mesh is designed to
provide protection from bacterial colonization of the surgical mesh during implantation.
In December 2005, the FDA granted 510(k) clearance for TyRx's new bioresorbable
polymer coated surgical mesh product.
In January of 2006, TyRx. announced that its Anesthetic Coated Surgical Mesh received
a designation of "Combination Product with Device Primary Mode of Action (PMOA)"
from the Office of Combination Products at the FDA. This designation and assignment to
the Center for Devices and Radiologic Health (CDRH) has historically indicated a faster
regulatory and commercial timeline for a product as compared to when the FDA
considers a combination product to be a "drug".
About TyRx Pharma Inc.
TyRx was organized in 1998 to commercialize a novel combinatorial chemistry-based
biomaterials technology licensed exclusively from Rutgers, The State University of New
Jersey, using substances such as tyrosine to build medical-grade biodegradable polymers.
Using proprietary polymerization processes, TyRx efficiently creates customized
polymers to meet precise product specifications. TyRx is deploying its capabilities across
a broad range of combination products. The combination products sector (products
incorporating both a drug & a device component) is expected to be the highest growth
segment of the medical products industry and TyRx is positioned to be an innovative
applications leader in the space. For more information, please visit:
www.tyrxpharma.com.
About Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, 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 2006, U.S. News & World Report has again ranked the College No. 13 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 $401.5 million, with $340
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 The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas is recognized
throughout the world for many contributions to cancer patient care, research, education
and prevention. Created in 1941 by the Texas Legislature, M. D. Anderson was one of
the nation's first three federally designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. M. D.
Anderson has been ranked among the top two cancer hospitals in the United States by
U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Hospitals" since the survey's inception 16
years ago. M. D. Anderson has been number one four times in the last six years.
Since 1944, almost 700,000 patients have come from across Texas and around the world
to M.D. Anderson for multidisciplinary cancer care, with almost 70,000 patients served in
the last year alone. At M. D. Anderson, important scientific knowledge gained in the
laboratory is rapidly translated into clinical care. In 2005, the institution spent more than
$342 million in research, an increase of approximately 86 percent in the last five years.
M. D. Anderson ranks first in the number of grants and total amount of grants given by
the National Cancer Institute.