ROCKVILLE, Md., and MELBOURNE, Australia, Aug 21 /PRNewswire/ -- CoGenesys, Inc. and Vegenics Limited today announced that they have entered into a worldwide licensing agreement that provides Vegenics with rights to intellectual property in the field of vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF). Under the terms of the agreement, CoGenesys will receive an upfront licensing fee, and is entitled to development milestone payments and royalties based on future sales of therapeutic products developed by Vegenics.
CoGenesys is a new company that recently completed a US$55m Series A funding. Vegenics is owned 50% by Circadian Technologies Limited (ASX: CIR - News) and 50% by the New York based Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and Licentia Ltd, the commercial arm of the University of Helsinki.
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors are a family of proteins that play an important role in promoting the growth of new blood vessels and maintenance of existing blood vessels. The approach of inhibiting VEGF and thus restricting blood and nutrient supply to tumors has potential in the treatment of cancer.
“We are delighted to announce this agreement with CoGenesys, which builds on our extensive patent portfolio covering VEGF-C and VEGF-D and antagonists to these molecules, developed by Ludwig and Licentia over the past 10 years,” said Robert Klupacs, Managing Director of Vegenics.
Mark Rampy, Ph.D., Chief Business Officer of CoGenesys said, “This agreement demonstrates our ability to provide access to CoGenesys technology and intellectual property to companies, like Vegenics, that share our goal of rapidly developing innovative products for use in the treatment of serious diseases. This is CoGenesys’ second license agreement, following a deal announced with PDL Biopharma earlier this year. Our business model is to internally advance select products into Phase I and Phase II clinical trials, while at the same time partnering our other assets. We continue to seek partners that are interested in rapidly developing innovative new product opportunities.”
About CoGenesys, Inc.
CoGenesys is advancing a pipeline of improved, long-acting biopharmaceuticals developed to address unmet medical needs across a broad spectrum of therapeutic areas. CoGenesys, Inc. was spun out of Human Genome Sciences (Nasdaq: HGSI - News) in June of 2006. The Company’s strategy is to demonstrate safety and proof of concept in clinical trials followed by licensing or partnering of compounds to fund further development. CoGenesys has approximately 70 employees, including 20 PhD-level scientists, and a dedicated 48,000 sq. ft. facility with specialized laboratories and cGMP manufacturing capacity sufficient for early-stage clinical testing. For more information about CoGenesys visit www.cogenesys.com.
About Vegenics Limited
Vegenics is an Australian company jointly owned by Circadian Technologies Limited, the New York based Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and Licentia Limited, the commercial arm of the University of Helsinki. The company is developing a pipeline of therapeutic compounds based on antagonists to the vascular endothelial growth factors, VEGF-C and VEGF-D. The VEGF technology, developed by world renowned Ludwig and Licentia researchers in Australia and Finland, has been exclusively licensed to Vegenics.
About LICR
The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research is a global non-profit organization committed to improving the understanding and control of cancer through integrated laboratory and clinical discovery employing over 800 scientists in Branches throughout North and South America, Europe and Australia. Leveraging its worldwide network of investigators and the ability to sponsor and conduct its own clinical trials, LICR is actively engaged in translating its discoveries into applications for human benefit.
About Licentia
Licentia Ltd commercialises technologies with IP protection originating from Finnish research institutes and universities, either through licensing or start-up companies. Since its establishment in 2001, Licentia has concluded over 70 licence and related contracts, which have generated income in millions of euros to universities and inventors.
About Circadian Technologies Limited
Circadian Technologies Limited (ASX: CIR - News) was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1985 and provides management and funding for the development and commercialization of biomedical research. Circadian is the largest shareholder in five ASX listed companies, in addition to maintaining an active research and development program in cancer and neurosciences. For more information about Circadian visit us at our website www.circadian.com.au.
Source: CoGenesys, Inc.
