Acquisition of Assets wnt-pathway
(NL version) | go backKiadis Pharma Acquires Assets to Develop Novel Cancer Treatments
Acquisition of patents, compounds, targets, research data, tools and collaborations on the "Wnt-pathway" from Hybrigenics S.A.
Groningen, the Netherlands, January 18, 2007 – Pharmaceutical product
development company Kiadis Pharma today announced it has acquired research assets related to the Wnt-signal transduction pathway from Hybrigenics S.A. This enables the company to accelerate its development of innovative anti-cancer medication. The agreement includes a complete research line, with all intellectual property, proprietary compounds, targets and research data generated.
Part of the intellectual property was developed by Professor Hans Clevers of the Hubrecht laboratory, who has become an alliance partner of Kiadis Pharma. His research revealed that mutations in the Wnt-pathway are associated with cancer of the intestine and a variety of other tissues. Kiadis Pharma will develop new oncology drugs based on the know-how accumulated in the multi-year research program it has acquired in this agreement.
“This is the first major acquisition after the merger with Celmed BioSciences and signifies another important step forward for Kiadis Pharma. The agreement ensures that we can continue to develop our product pipeline. We can add the new validated oncology targets, compounds in development and the rich knowledge base behind them to expedite the growth of our company.” says Manja Bouman, CEO, Kiadis Pharma.
Kiadis Pharma becomes co-owner of the patent family “β-Catenin, TCF-4 and APC Interact to Prevent cancer”. It acquires full ownership of the “TCF target genes” patent family, specifically covering several well validated and drugable targets, featuring the membrane protein GPR49 as showcase. These proprietary targets have a central role in the biology of colorectal cancer. The targets and the interacting compounds already identified will allow Kiadis Pharma to develop novel cancer drugs based on the Wnt-signal transduction pathway.
The agreement includes an upfront payment for the assets and an agreement on sharing of milestone payments and royalties in case of further licensing of IP on GPR49. Hybrigenics S.A. and Kiadis Pharma B.V. agreed not to disclose further financial details concerning this transaction.
