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ARIUS Research Signs Anti-Cancer Antibody Discovery Deal with Takeda |
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03 Apr 2006 |
Three-Year Collaboration to look for Novel Cancer Treatments
TORONTO, Canada | Apr 03, 2006 | ARIUS Research Inc. (TSX-V: ARI) and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) have entered into a three-year, multi-product collaboration using ARIUS' FunctionFIRST(TM) Platform to discover novel treatments for human disease.
Under the terms of the agreement, ARIUS will receive an upfront technology access fee of US$2.0 million, consisting of US$1.0 million each in cash and equity investment respectively, and research funding for the three years. ARIUS will also be entitled to milestone payments based on progress through clinical development plus royalties on net sales for any licensed product. Takeda will assume the responsibility and costs of development and commercialization while ARIUS will have an option to co-develop any product. Further financial terms were not disclosed.
Within thirty days of closing, ARIUS will complete a private placement with Takeda in which ARIUS will issue 614,737 common shares at a price of CDN$1.90 each, based on the prevailing exchange rate of US$1.00 = CDN$1.1680 on March 31, 2006, subject to applicable regulatory and Exchange approvals. Following completion of the private placement, ARIUS will have a total of 43,660,331 common shares issued and outstanding.
The ARIUS business model uses the FunctionFIRST(TM) platform for discovery and development collaborations. The platform has generated over 350 antibodies for the ARIUS library which are being pursued for internal development and partnership deals. Antibodies discovered through ARIUS' proprietary technology have demonstrated anti-tumor activity in animal models of a number of human cancers and have been shown to recognize important cancer targets.
"Takeda has committed extensive scientific and development resources to antibodies for cancer and we are excited by the opportunity to work together to bring our products forward," said Dr. David Young, President of Arius Research Inc. "A discovery partnership with Takeda will help us exploit our technology and achieve secure research funding and support from a premier pharmaceutical company."
"We expect that the unique approach of Arius, which is to select the functional antibodies first, will lead to an improved success ratio of developing therapeutic antibodies for a variety of cancers," said Shigenori Ohkawa, PhD, General Manager of Pharmaceutical Research Division of Takeda. "We believe that this joint research Collaboration with Arius will contribute to enhancing our cancer franchise as one of our core therapeutic areas for future growth."
Cancer affects approximately 1.4 million new patients each year in North America. ARIUS is researching treatments for the most common cancers and those with significant unmet medical need.
About ARIUS
ARIUS Research Inc. is a biotechnology company dedicated to personalizing cancer therapy through the discovery and development of novel anticancer monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). Established in 1999, ARIUS has built a proprietary technology platform, FunctionFIRST(TM), that rapidly identifies powerful MAbs targeting a variety of cancer indications. This antibody generation engine has enabled ARIUS to assemble a growing pipeline, which is used for commercial collaborations and in-house development. ARIUS has ongoing partnerships with key biotechnology and drug development companies. The company is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "ARI".
About Takeda
Takeda is a research-based global company with its main focus on pharmaceuticals. As the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan and one of the industry's leaders worldwide, Takeda is committed to strive toward better health for individuals and progress in medicine by developing superior pharmaceutical products. Takeda is actively dedicated to enhance its pipeline for future growth through alliance as well as in-house R&D activities. For more information on Takeda, please visit the company's web site at www.takeda.com.
SOURCE: ARIUS Research Inc. |
