Contributed by Lisa Olen| 25 March, 2005 14:31 GMT
Promising initial anti-cancer activity without substantial additional toxicity has been observed in using ProMune to combat solid and hematologic tumors, both as a single agent and in combination with other treatments.
Pfizer has agreed to pay $50 million to Coley Pharmaceutical Group with the potential for up to $455 million in additional milestone payments, plus royalties, in an exclusive global license agreement to develop, manufacture and commercialize Coley's anti-cancer drug ProMune (CPG 7909).
ProMune is a toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist delivered by subcutaneous injection for the potential treatment, control and prevention of a wide range of cancers in humans. The agreement is subject to government approval.
Promising Anti-Cancer Activity
Pfizer will fund future development of ProMune, including planned Phase III trials for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. The use of ProMune with a variety of other tumor types also will be explored.
"Results of clinical studies conducted to date suggest that ProMune has promising anti-cancer activity and may represent an important advance in treating a range of cancer indications," said Karen Katen, vice chairman and president, Pfizer Human Health.
"This agreement is a further step in our strategy to augment Pfizer's internal research activities with externally sourced products in key therapeutic areas, such as oncology, where Pfizer is working to meet the needs of cancer patients," she added.
Highly Potent, Broadly Applicable
ProMune has been evaluated in clinical studies involving more than 900
subjects. Promising initial anti-cancer activity without substantial
additional toxicity has been observed in both solid and hematologic tumors, both as a single agent and in combination with other treatments.
The technology licensed to Pfizer by Coley includes intellectual property licensed by Coley from the University of Iowa Research Foundation in Iowa City, Iowa and the Ottawa Health Research Institute in Ottawa, Canada.
"We are extremely proud of our progress with ProMune, as shown in Coley's randomized Phase II clinical trials," said Robert L. Bratzler, Ph.D., Coley's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to working with the Pfizer team to realize ProMune's remarkable potential as a highly potent and broadly applicable anti-cancer therapy." |
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