Cell Signaling Technology, Inc. Grants a Patent License to Pfizer Inc.

DANVERS, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cell Signaling Technology, Inc. (CST) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) that provides Pfizer with a worldwide non-exclusive license under the patent estates pooled by CST and Astellas Pharma, Inc. (Patent Estates) relating to EML4 anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK). The fusion kinase EML4-ALK has been found to be present in a subset of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Pfizer and Abbott entered into a separate agreement in 2009 to develop and commercialize a diagnostic test designed to screen NSCLC tumors for the presence of rearrangements in the ALK gene. Pfizer will grant a sublicense to Abbott under the Patent Estates for Abbott to commercialize diagnostic products based on fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technology for ALK detection. Detection of ALK-positive NSCLC is necessary for selection of patients for treatment with Pfizer’s crizotinib, an investigational oral first-in-class agent that inhibits ALK.

Back to news