PLAN LES OUATES, GENEVA, Switzerland and MONTREAL, Aug. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Med Discovery and DRAXIMAGE, the radiopharmaceutical division of DRAXIS Health Inc. announced today that they have established a research collaboration agreement to explore the combination of Med Discovery’s targeted protein therapeutics with DRAXIMAGE’s radiopharmaceutical expertise in the therapeutic and diagnostics field.
Med Discovery’s lead proteins are themselves potential therapeutic agents for prostate cancer and a variety of other cancers. This collaboration provides initially for the radiolabeling of certain Med Discovery’s proteins by DRAXIMAGE to assess the enhancement of their therapeutic action and their capability to detect microtumors. The proteins will be produced at Med Discovery in Switzerland and radiolabeled by DRAXIMAGE in Canada.
“This agreement paves the way for a fruitful collaboration between our two companies,” said David Deperthes, CEO of Med Discovery. He continued, “We are very happy to be working with DRAXIMAGE, one of the world leaders in the development and commercialization of radiopharmaceuticals. We believe that this collaboration will not only help advance our lead molecules to the clinic, but also generate exciting possibilities for future products based on a combination of our two companies’ expertise.”
“We look forward to working closely with Med Discovery to facilitate the clinical development of their promising product candidates,” said Dr. Jean De Serres, Vice President, Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs at DRAXIMAGE. “This exciting program is an excellent example of how DRAXIMAGE is establishing strategic partnerships for the identification and development of innovative products and technologies.”
The data for these proteins from this collaboration will yield information that is essential for commencing clinical studies. This is a prerequisite for their development as potential treatments for cancers where there are currently few satisfactory therapeutic alternatives.
The advent of new agents that can home in on molecular targets, such as cancer cells, opens new doors for designing radiopharmaceuticals. Attaching radioactive isotopes to such agents may provide a way to more precisely deliver highly localized radiation therapy or allow researchers to better find and track metastatic tumors or more effectively monitor the progress of therapy.
About Med Discovery SA: Med Discovery combines biological drug discovery expertise with a strong in-house knowledge of the medical urology field to develop novel drugs for urological cancers and other related solid tumors. The company’s core technologies are in the areas of protein-based protease inhibitors and high affinity binding molecules. Med Discovery is a privately funded Swiss biotech company founded in 2002 as a spin-off of the Vaudois University Hospital Centre (CHUV) in Lausanne. For more information, please consult www.med-discovery.com
About DRAXIMAGE:
DRAXIMAGE develops, manufactures and markets diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals for the global marketplace. Products currently include a line of lyophilized technetium-99m kits used in nuclear imaging procedures and therapeutic products labeled with a variety of isotopes including radioiodine.
About DRAXIS Health Inc.:
DRAXIS Health, through its wholly owned operating subsidiary, DRAXIS Specialty Pharmaceuticals Inc., provides products in three categories: sterile products, non-sterile products and radiopharmaceuticals. Sterile products include liquid and freeze-dried (lyophilized) injectables plus sterile ointments and creams. Non-sterile products are produced as solid oral and semi-solid dosage forms. Radiopharmaceuticals are used for both therapeutic and diagnostic molecular imaging applications. Pharmaceutical contract manufacturing services are provided through the DRAXIS Pharma division and radiopharmaceuticals are developed, produced, and sold through the DRAXIMAGE division. DRAXIS employs approximately 500 staff in its Montreal facility
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DRAXIS Health Inc.
CONTACT: for DRAXIMAGE: Jerry Ormiston, Executive Director, InvestorRelations, DRAXIS Health Inc., Phone: 1-877-441-1984; Contact for MedDiscovery: Tom Gibbs, Med Discovery SA, Phone: +41 22 706 17 54,tom.gibbs@med-discovery.com
