Dendreon and Kirin to Develop and Commercialize Dendritic Cell Therapies.SEATTLE--(BW HealthWire)--Dec. 10, 1998--Dendreon Corp., a privately held biotechnology firm, and Kirin Brewery Co., Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan today announced the signing of a corporate development and marketing partnership. The aim of the partnership is the development and commercialization of novel therapeutic products based on Dendreon's dendritic cell dendritic cell n. 1. A cell that has branching processes. 2. Any of the cells in the neural crest of the embryonic ectoderm having extensive processes and developing early as producers of melanin. technology, for which Kirin will become the exclusive marketing partner for Japan and many other Asian and Oceanic countries. The parties additionally will jointly commercialize some products in Europe emerging from their collaboration. The companies have also agreed to enter into a joint research agreement relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc dendritic-cell product development. "Kirin is a renowned leader in the field of cytokine-based products, and we look forward very much to developing a new class of dendritic dendritic /den·drit·ic/ (den-drit´ik) 1. branched like a tree. 2. pertaining to or possessing dendrites. den·drit·ic adj. Relating to the dendrites of nerve cells. cell-based therapeutics with them," said Dr. Christopher Dr. John R. Christopher, known popularly as "Dr. Christopher" was one of very few nationally prominent doctors of herbal medicine of the middle third of the 20th century, a "dark ages" of herbalism and was responsible for the herbal renaissance of the 1960s. Henney, chief executive officer of Dendreon. "We were pleased that upon entering the field of cell-based therapies, Kirin sought out Dendreon as their first partner." Under the terms of the partnership, Kirin has made an equity investment in Dendreon and has agreed to purchase additional equity at the time of Dendreon's initial public offering (IPO (Initial Public Offering) The first time a company offers shares of stock to the public. While not a computer term per se, many founders, employees and insiders of computer companies have found this acronym more exciting than any tech term they ever heard. ). In addition, Kirin has received a license to employ Dendreon technology in the development of therapeutic products for commercialization in Asia and Oceania. Kirin has also received an option to license dendritic cell products developed by Dendreon, for commercialization in its territory. In exchange, Dendreon has received a signing fee, and will receive milestone payments associated with development and future royalties on the sale of approved products. Dendreon has furthermore received from Kirin an option to exclusively license products developed by Kirin using Dendreon technology, for commercialization in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . Dendreon's first product, a treatment for prostate cancer prostate cancer, cancer originating in the prostate gland. Prostate cancer is the leading malignancy in men in the United States and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in men. , is in late-stage clinical testing in the United States. Kirin will commence clinical testing for a certain cell therapy in Japan in 1999. "We are delighted to collaborate on the research and commercialization of Dendreon's dendritic cell technology. Kirin is a well-established leader in providing research, development, manufacturing, and marketing of pharmaceutical and other medical products throughout Asia," said Dr. Koichiro Aramaki, president of Kirin Pharmaceutical Division. "We anticipate that promising dendritic cell based immunotherapies will be developed as a result of this relationship." Kirin Pharmaceutical Division is a division of Kirin Brewery Co., Ltd. Kirin is Japan's foremost beer company and fourth largest in the world by sales volume. Kirin is also building a powerful presence in diverse new business areas including new pharmaceuticals such as human hematopoietic hematopoietic /he·ma·to·poi·et·ic/ (-poi-et´ik) 1. pertaining to hematopoiesis. 2. an agent that promotes hematopoiesis. hematopoietic 1. pertaining to or affecting the formation of blood cells. factors and cancer drugs. Dendreon Corp. is a leader in the development and commercialization of novel cell-based therapies for the treatment of cancer and chronic infectious disease Infectious disease A pathological condition spread among biological species. Infectious diseases, although varied in their effects, are always associated with viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites and aberrant proteins known as prions. . The company is a pioneer in the use of dendritic cells to stimulate immune responses and the leading clinical group focused on commercializing dendritic cells for therapeutic purposes. |
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