Sanofi buys into cancer antibody research
pharmafile | January 26, 2011 | News story | Research and Development | Cancer, Oxford Biotherapeutics, Sanofi, Sanofi-Aventis, antibody drug conjugate, cancer research
Sanofi-Aventis has bought a global licence to develop and commercialise one of Oxford BioTherapeutics’ (OBT) oncology programmes.
For an undisclosed upfront cash payment, Sanofi now has the rights to antibody drug conjugate (ADC) products for the treatment of cancer.
OBT created the products, which are toxins attached to antibodies that target tumour cells and directed against a novel, proprietary target identified by the firm’s researchers.
“This is the most advanced antibody licensing deal that OBT has signed to date,” said OBT chief executive Christian Rohlff.
Sanofi will make development and regulatory milestone payments to the privately-owned Oxford company, plus royalties on worldwide sales and extra monies depending on performance.
“I am delighted that the target and antibody capabilities that we have built have been recognised by a world leading pharmaceutical company such as Sanofi-Aventis,” Rohlff added.
One of OBT’s key selling points is its OGAP proteomic database, one of the world’s largest, containing proprietary human cancer cell-surface protein.
The company, formed six years ago, combines this with genomic and clinical information derived from human blood and cancer tissue studies.
“Given their expertise and experience in cancer drug development, I am very pleased that a programme from our broad preclinical pipeline will be developed by Sanofi-Aventis,” concluded Rohlff.
OBT has been successful in attracting big name collaborators: in 2009 it struck a deal with GlaxoSmithKline to develop therapies for primary, metastatic and recurring forms of cancer.
Sanofi has also been highly active in this therapy area of late, signing three cancer research deals last month.
One was potentially a $40 million with Massachusetts-based biotech Avila Therapeutics to discover targeted covalent drugs, while the second was a collaboration with Oxford University to conduct cancer research in India.
And the third saw Sanofi join forces with Merck Serono to launch new phase I trials three cancer drug candidates.
Adam Hill
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