On January 17, 2008 Cancer Research Technology Limited (CRT), the specialist oncology-focused development and commercialisation company, reported it has granted an exclusive worldwide licence to Glycart Biotechnology, a member of the Roche group, to develop a preclinical antibody for the treatment of cancer (Press release, Cancer Research Technology, JAN 17, 2008, View Source [SID1234523382]).

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The licensed antibody selectively binds to a cell surface-presented protein that is over-expressed in certain types of cancer including colorectal cancer. The antibody was originally developed by Cancer Research UK.

Glycart will use its proprietary GlycoMAB technology to enhance the in vivo efficacy of the antibody. A research collaboration between CRT, Glycart and the University of Oxford has been established to investigate the potential efficacy of the glyco-engineered antibody in pre-clinical studies.

Dr Phil L’Huillier, CRT’s director of business management, said: "This is a significant step forward in the development of this technology as a therapeutic agent. We’re very pleased that Glycart is taking this exciting antibody forward and we look forward to the development of a therapeutic that will help treat bowel cancer more efficiently."

On December 18, 2007 Pfizer Inc reported it has entered into an agreement to acquire CovX, a privately-held biotherapeutics company specializing in preclinical oncology and metabolic research and a developer of a biotherapeutics technology platform that will enhance Pfizer’s biologic portfolio (Press release, Pfizer, DEC 18, 2007, View Source [SID1234523621]).

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"The acquisition of CovX is a further step in Pfizer’s strategy to acquire and identify new product candidates that we can put into development, leveraging both Pfizer’s expertise and that of world-class scientists charged with discovering and bringing in new compounds," said Jeffrey Kindler, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer. "With this deal, we are building on our recent announcement of a new Biotherapeutic and Bioinnovation Center based in California and led by Dr. Corey Goodman. We are looking for the best science wherever we can find it, with a special focus in our priority areas, such as biotherapeutics."

CovX’s biotherapeutic platform is a technology that links therapeutic peptides to an antibody "scaffold". The peptide targets the disease while the antibody scaffold allows the peptide to remain in the body long enough to achieve therapeutic benefit. The technology thereby allows half-life extension and bioavailability to support optimal dosing regimens for peptide therapeutics.

As validation of this technology, CovX has generated three early- stage compounds, one diabetes and two oncology compounds, that are expected to further strengthen Pfizer’s biologic pipeline portfolio.

Based in La Jolla, California, CovX will operate as a division of Pfizer’s new Biotherapeutic and Bioinnovation Center.

"This deal demonstrates Pfizer’s ongoing commitment to build a competitive biotherapeutics enterprise through the acquisition of talented scientists, promising product candidates and a cutting edge technology platform," said Dr. Corey Goodman, president of Pfizer’s Biotherapeutic and Bioinnovation Center. "CovX scientists will remain in place, which reflects our decision to partner differently and maximize the productivity of the research initiatives underway outside of our walls."

"We are pleased to transition the CovX technology to Pfizer’s Biotherapeutic and Bioinnovation group and are confident they have the vision and resources to scale the platform and realize the opportunity to make efficacious drugs which will make a difference in peoples’ lives," stated Shehan Dissanayake, Chairman of CovX and CEO of Tavistock Life Sciences.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions (including approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976), and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

More information on both companies and the peptide technology can be found at www.pfizer.com and www.covx.com.

On December 5, 2007 Biomira Inc. (Nasdaq: BIOM) (TSX: BRA) ("Biomira", the "Company") reported that the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench today issued a Final Order approving the plan of arrangement under which the Company will move to the United States and change its name to Oncothyreon Inc. ("Oncothyreon") (Press release, Biomira, DEC 5, 2007, View Source [SID:1234513129]). Biomira also announced that the Board of Directors, upon review of the shareholder vote and other pertinent matters, yesterday voted unanimously to proceed with the plan of arrangement.

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Biomira intends to file articles of amendment to effect the plan of arrangement on or about December 10, 2007, and to commence trading as Oncothyreon on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol "ONTY" and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "ONY" shortly thereafter. Letters of transmittal are expected to be mailed to registered shareholders commencing later today.

Upon completion of the plan of arrangement, Oncothyreon will become the parent corporation of a successor corporation of the current Biomira and its subsidiaries. Holders of common shares of Biomira will receive one-sixth of a share of common stock of Oncothyreon in exchange for each common share of Biomira. Oncothyreon intends to establish its headquarters in or near Seattle, Washington.

On November 7, 2007 Cancer Research Technology Ltd (CRT), the specialist oncology development and commercialisation company, reported it has recruited Dr Hamish Ryder as its first director of discovery (Press release, Cancer Research Technology, NOV 7, 2007, View Source [SID1234523383]).

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Dr Ryder has more than 20 years experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, most recently as director of drug discovery at Almirall. He will lead operations at CRT’s Development Laboratories and oversee the continuing expansion of the staff and facilities. He will report to Dr Keith Blundy, Chief Executive of CRT.

The Development Laboratories are a key feature of CRT’s business, enabling the company to add value to projects in-licensed from its parent organisation, Cancer Research UK, as well as other academic and industry partners. The current expansion plans will see the number of scientific staff double from around 45 to 90 by mid-2009.

Increasing the capacity of the labs will help meet growing demand and, in particular, enable projects to be completed more quickly, ensuring potential therapeutics are developed as soon as possible. It will consolidate CRT’s leading position in translational cancer drug discovery and biotherapeutic development.

Commenting on the appointment, Dr Blundy said: "This is an extremely exciting period of growth for CRT. I’m delighted that Hamish Ryder will be joining us as director of discovery. He has a great depth of experience of drug discovery in several therapeutic areas, including oncology at Xenova, and has successfully reorganised and expanded Almirall’s discovery capability."

In addition to the appointment of Dr Ryder, CRT has created a position of Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) which also reports to Dr Blundy. Dr Clive Stanway, whose previous role included establishing and running the DL, will assume this new role which will involve the strategic development of the entire CRT project portfolio and the assessment of future technologies and project opportunities. He will also liaise with CRT Inc (CRT’s US subsidiary) and Cancer Therapeutics (CRT’s collaborating organisation in Australia) regarding project selection and development.

Dr Stanway said: "I’m sure Hamish will relish the challenge of overseeing the continuing growth of our scientific activities. We expect to generate many new partnering opportunities, providing leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies with exciting and novel opportunities to supplement their pipelines."

Commenting on his new role, Dr Ryder said: "I’m delighted to be joining CRT at this critical and exciting stage of expansion. CRT provides a unique environment for drug discovery, drawing on world-class basic research funded by Cancer Research UK and having patient need as the sole driver. I’m looking forward to playing my part in building on the excellent team already in place and to contributing to the discovery of new treatments for cancer patients."

On October 16, 2007 Perlegen Sciences, Inc., The University of Cambridge, Cancer Research Technology Ltd (CRT) and its parent organization, Cancer Research UK, reported that Perlegen has obtained an exclusive commercial license from Cambridge Enterprise Limited, the commercialisation office of Cambridge University, to the breast cancer markers identified through collaborative research between the parties that was previously announced in February, 2005 (Press release, Cancer Research Technology, OCT 16, 2007, View Source [SID1234523384]).

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The study identified novel breast cancer susceptibility markers that are present in approximately 20% of UK breast cancer cases. By comparison, previously identified genetic variants, for example in the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, are much rarer, occurring in less than 5% of breast cancer cases.

Although common, these risk alleles (forms of DNA sequence at a specific location) confer somewhat less overall risk than other described markers, doubling breast cancer risk in cases which have two copies of the variants versus those with none.

Pursuant to the terms of the license agreement, Perlegen will commercialize a diagnostic test, either directly or through a sub-license agreement with a third party. Cambridge University and CRT will share in any financial returns. In addition, Cambridge University may provide non-commercial licenses to academic researchers.

The results of the collaboration were published in June 2007 in the scientific journal Nature: "Genome-wide association study identifies novel breast cancer susceptibility loci" by Douglas F. Easton et al. More than one million women are diagnosed annually with breast cancer. The near term diagnostic, and possibly longer term therapeutic, application of these findings could benefit breast cancer patients through improvements in prevention, earlier detection and ultimately treatment of breast cancer.

The study that yielded these markers, the most comprehensive study of breast cancer genetics ever conducted, was based on reading the DNA of over 50,000 women. The samples used in the study were coordinated by the researchers at Cambridge University through a variety of clinical collaborators around the globe. Perlegen genotyped the anonymised samples to determine the genetic variation in each sample. Funding was provided by Cancer Research UK, the parent organization of CRT.

"We are pleased that the collaborative effort between Cambridge University, Perlegen, all those who provided DNA samples to the study, and Cancer Research UK which provided funding support, has led to increased knowledge of the genetic basis of breast cancer," said Prof. Bruce Ponder, Director of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute, Head of the Department of Oncology, and Co-Director of Strangeways Research Laboratory, University of Cambridge.

"The next step for this research is to translate our greater understanding of the genetic basis of the disease into new technologies that will directly benefit breast cancer patients," commented Dr. Keith Blundy, Chief Executive Officer of CRT.

"We look forward to further developments in this field, which together with today’s important findings, will hold the promise of improving the health care for the many women with these novel susceptibility genetic markers," said Dr. Bryan Walser, Chief Executive Officer of Perlegen Sciences.

Dr. Iain Thomas, Head of Life Sciences at Cambridge Enterprise Limited added: "One in nine women in the UK will be diagnosed with breast cancer. We hope the results of this study will make an important difference for many of these women. We’re delighted to have entered into this commercial license with Perlegen Sciences."