AVEO Pharmaceuticals to Utilize Peptech's Breakthrough Technology to "Humanise" Internal Drug Candidates.CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & SYDNEY, Australia -- Peptech Limited (ASX ASX See: Australian Stock Exchange : PTD PTD Property Tax Division PTD Painted (architectural) PTD Power Transmission and Distribution PTD Permanent Total Disability (insurance term) PTD Participatory Technology Development ) and AVEO Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced they have entered into a non-exclusive research and commercialisation agreement in which AVEO will access Peptech's Superhumanisation(TM) technology to humanise v. 1. Same as humanize. Verb 1. humanise - make more humane; "The mayor tried to humanize life in the big city" humanize alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may internally-derived drug candidates. The Superhumanisation[TM] technology allows for modifying antibodies generated in animals so that they retain their essential therapeutic properties but appear "human-like" or "humanised" and will therefore not be rejected by the immune system immune system Cells, cell products, organs, and structures of the body involved in the detection and destruction of foreign invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. Immunity is based on the system's ability to launch a defense against such invaders. of patients receiving them. Antibodies are the fastest growing class of drugs, with major product successes driving a continued high level of interest in this sector from the pharmaceutical industry worldwide. Under the terms of the agreement, AVEO will provide Peptech an upfront payment for access to Peptech's intellectual property and know-how surrounding the Peptech's Superhumanisation(TM) methodology for humanising antibodies. AVEO will utilise the technology in-house and will be responsible for future clinical development and commercialisation of any products made using the technology. Peptech will receive annual license fees and payments upon successful achievement of preclinical and clinical milestones as well as royalties on sales of any products resulting from the collaboration. Additional financial terms were not disclosed. This is the first commercial deal Peptech (through its wholly-owned subsidiary, EvoGenix) has signed for its Superhumanisation(TM) technology which it obtained through its merger with EvoGenix in August this year, with negotiations on the deal starting prior to the merger. EvoGenix has ongoing platform technology partnerships with GlaxoSmithKline, CSL Limited CSL Limited is an Australian-based manufacturer of medical products. Its products include various blood plasma derivatives, vaccines, antivenom, and cell culture reagents used in various medical and genetic research and manufacturing. and Vegenics Limited. "AVEO Pharmaceuticals is an exciting company with a growing pipeline of innovative cancer products. We are delighted to be working with them to a common goal of advancing better therapeutic products to market," said John Chiplin, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Peptech. "The fact that AVEO has chosen to license our Superhumanisation(TM) technology, a proprietary offering that is fast becoming the benchmark for humanisation n. 1. Same as humanization. Noun 1. humanisation - the act of making more human humanization improvement - the act of improving something; "their improvements increased the value of the property" undertakings further validates our approach to creating a globally competitive antibody engineering platform." Tuan Ha-Ngoc, AVEO's President and CEO, stated, "Licensing this technology from Peptech augments our internal discovery capabilities and further illustrates AVEO's commitment to maximising our antibody drug discovery and development platform. We will continue to identify technology opportunities to drive our portfolio of internally discovered drug candidates while leveraging our proprietary in vivo in vivo /in vi·vo/ (ve´vo) [L.] within the living body. in vi·vo adj. Within a living organism. in vivo adv. cancer models to direct the clinical development and ultimately realise the commercial potential of both our internally discovered and in-licensed pipeline of cancer drugs." About Peptech: Peptech Limited is one of the Australia's largest bio-pharmaceutical companies listed on the ASX. Peptech recently merged with EvoGenix to become a leading player in the antibody therapeutics market; a market that is expected to treble in size by 2010. The Company is focused on developing and providing antibody and protein-based human therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases Noun 1. inflammatory disease - a disease characterized by inflammation disease - an impairment of health or a condition of abnormal functioning NEC, necrotizing enterocolitis - an acute inflammatory disease occurring in the intestines of premature infants; . Peptech's value lies in its revenue generating platform technologies, diversified therapeutic products and ability to accelerate development opportunities with its strong cash position. Peptech's lead compound, PN0621, a differentiated anti-TNF domain antibody construct, is currently in Phase I development for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis rheumatoid arthritis Chronic, progressive autoimmune disease causing connective-tissue inflammation, mostly in synovial joints. It can occur at any age, is more common in women, and has an unpredictable course. and other inflammatory diseases. For further information: www.peptech.com Through its acquisition of EvoGenix, Peptech offers a novel proprietary technology platform to facilitate the development of antibodies and other protein therapeutics of high potency and suitable for long term administration to patients. The technology operates in two stages: Superhumanisation(TM), a superior approach for modifying antibodies generated in animals so that they retain their essential therapeutic properties but appear "human-like" or "humanised" and therefore not be rejected by the immune system of patients receiving them. In conventional humanisation the starting antibody is matched on the basis of sequence homology homology (hōmŏl`əjē), in biology, the correspondence between structures of different species that is attributable to their evolutionary descent from a common ancestor. to a human framework. In contrast, with Superhumanisation[TM] the frameworks are chosen on the basis of matched canonical structure, resulting in products that are less immunogenic im·mu·no·gen·ic adj. Producing an immune response. immunogenic producing immunity; evoking an immune response. , yet better retain the properties of the starting antibody. EvoGene(TM) Optimisation, a highly efficient, novel process for fine-tuning antibodies and other proteins to increase their activity or specificity. The process involves making billions of copies of the protein, each with one or two small changes compared with the original. The copies are then tested to find those with improved properties, for example more powerful attachment to a target to improve potency, or more effective cancer cell killing. For further information: www.evogenix.com About AVEO AVEO is a private biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel, targeted cancer therapeutics. The company utilizes its proprietary, genetically-defined cancer models for the identification and validation of novel cancer targets, and has begun to build an impressive portfolio of drug discovery and development programs around these high-value targets. AVEO also uses its Human Response Prediction[TM] Platform to identify genetic profiles that correspond with patient responsiveness. AVEO expects to commence Phase 2 clinical studies in the second half of 2007 for AV-951, its oral, second-generation VEGF VEGF vascular endothelial growth factor. receptor inhibitor and most advanced clinical program. AV-412, AVEO's EGFR/HER2 inhibitor, is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials phase 1 clinical trial Phase 1 study. See Phase study. . AV-299, a novel anti-HGF mAb partnered with Schering-Plough Corporation, is expected to enter the clinic in early 2008. AVEO is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts This article is about the city of Cambridge in Massachusetts. For the English university town, see Cambridge, England. For other places, see Cambridge (disambiguation). Cambridge, Massachusetts is a city in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, United States. . For more information, please visit the company's website at www.aveopharma.com |
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