AUSTIN, Texas, April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Start Licensing, Inc. (“Start”) announced today that it has granted GTC Biotherapeutics, Inc. a non-exclusive license to Roslin Institute patents and patent applications. These applications include the foundational somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning technology developed at the Roslin Institute for cloning Dolly the sheep. The license agreement allows GTC use of nuclear transfer cloning techniques to generate transgenic animals that produce therapeutic proteins in their milk.
In exchange for the license rights, GTC paid a combined upfront fee of $500,000 in cash and stock, including $200,000 in cash to Start and $300,000 in shares of GTC stock split equally between Start and its parent company Exeter Life Sciences, Inc. Financial terms also include minimum annual royalty obligations, and royalties on product sales.
“We are pleased to enter into this licensing agreement with GTC,” said Jonathan Thatcher, President of Start Licensing. “This agreement underscores the potential for animal cloning technologies in applications that improve human health.”
About Start Licensing
Start is a joint venture of Geron Corporation and Exeter Life Sciences, Inc. Start manages and licenses a broad portfolio of intellectual property rights related to animal reproductive technologies, including foundational nuclear transfer cloning technology developed at the Roslin Institute for the cloning of Dolly the sheep. Start’s licensees are on the cutting edge of research and product development in food production, medical applications and many other fields.
About GTC Biotherapeutics
GTC develops, produces, and commercializes therapeutic proteins through transgenic animal technology. In August 2006, ATryn(R), GTC’s recombinant form of human antithrombin, was approved by the European Commission for use in patients with hereditary antithrombin deficiency undergoing surgical procedures. This was the first approval anywhere in the world of a therapeutic protein produced from a transgenic animal. ATryn(R) is partnered with LEO Pharma A/S for development and commercialization in Europe, Canada, and the Middle East. Additional information is available on the GTC web site, http://www.gtc-bio.com.
Start Licensing, Inc.
CONTACT: Lisa Hanna, +1-202-466-9633, for Start Licensing, Inc.
Web site: http://www.gtc-bio.com/
