Kyowa Hakko Licenses Anticancer Agent KW-2401 to Keryx Biopharmaceuticals.Tokyo, Japan, Oct 4, 2006 - (JCN JCN Japan Corporate News JCN Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience JCN Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing JCN Journal of Christian Nursing JCN Job Control Number JCN Journal of Child Neurology JCN joint communications network (US DoD) ) - Kyowa Hakko Kogyo entered into a license agreement with US-based Keryx Biopharmaceuticals on September 29 for Kyowa's original anticancer agent KW-2401 (UCN-01). Under this agreement, Kyowa Hakko will grant Keryx an exclusive license to develop and commercialize the compound worldwide except in Japan and receive an upfront payment, milestone payments and royalties on sales of commercialized products from Keryx. u@ KW-2401(UCN-01) is in Phase-II clinical studies in the US, directed and sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. Phase-I clinical studies of the compound in Japan were completed in 2002 u@ Kyowa Hakko screened and isolated a microorganism microorganism /mi·cro·or·gan·ism/ (-or´gah-nizm) a microscopic organism; those of medical interest include bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. producing a substance with the target function and created KW-2401(UCN-01) in-house from an active substance in the fermentation products of the microorganism. u@ Basic research demonstrated that KW-2401(UCN-01) inhibits the activities of protein kinases protein kinase /pro·tein ki·nase/ (pro´ten ki´nas) an enzyme that catalyzes the phosphorylation of serine, threonine, or tyrosine groups in enzymes or other proteins, using ATP as a phosphate donor. involved in the proliferation of cancer cells cells once believed to be peculiar to cancers, but now know to be epithelial cells differing in no respect from those found elsewhere in the body, and distinguished only by peculiarity of location and grouping. See also: Cancer , transformation of cells, etc. and directly induces cell death (apoptosis apoptosis or programmed cell death Mechanism that allows cells to self-destruct when stimulated by the appropriate trigger. It may be initiated when a cell is no longer needed, when a cell becomes a threat to the organism's health, or for other reasons. ) and also enhances apoptosis-inducing activity of other anticancer agents when combined. Copyright [c] 2006 Japan Corporate News Network. All rights reserved. |
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