Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Nanostart-held Lumiphore announces cooperation agreement with leading oncology company

Home > Press > Nanostart-held Lumiphore announces cooperation agreement with leading oncology company

Abstract:
* Partnership with Algeta, world leader in alpha-pharmaceuticals for cancer treatment
* Joint development agreement for highly targeted radiotherapy
* Algeta receives option on exclusive technology license
* Potential new class of radioimmunotherapeutics

Nanostart-held Lumiphore announces cooperation agreement with leading oncology company

Frankfurt, Germany / Richmond, CA | Posted on October 26th, 2010

Lumiphore Inc., a portfolio company of Nanostart AG, has signed a global cooperation with Algeta ASA (Oslo Stock Exchange, ticker: ALGETA), a leading company specializing in innovative radiopharmaceutical therapies to treat cancer patients. The agreement enables the integration of Lumiphore's Lumi4® complexes into the targeted radiotherapeutics and companion diagnostics from Algeta. This also marks the fourth significant partnership for Lumiphore in just four years.

The highly targeted form of radiotherapy works by using a new class of radiation-emitting pharmaceuticals, called "alpha-pharmaceuticals". These act through molecular binding to cancer cells, where they can then emit alpha particles in precisely the right location to treat the tumor.

The agreement provides Algeta with an option to the exclusive rights to incorporate the Lumi4® isophthalamide chelation technology from Lumiphore into these targeted radiopharmaceutical therapeutics for cancer.

The Lumi4® complex functions by binding to a radioactive metal ion, which is the radiation source that emits the alpha particles which in turn destroy the tumor. At the same time, another portion of the complex binds to the pharmaceutical substance which is required to identify the tumor cells.

Under the terms of the agreement, Algeta obtains an exclusive 12-month option to an exclusive license for the use of Lumiphore's Lumi4® chelator technology within the field of therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals. The license will also give Algeta the right to use this technology in companion diagnostics, which are radiopharmaceuticals for determining either the suitability of patients for treatment and/or the effectiveness of treatment. Algeta will pay Lumiphore a fee on signing the option agreement and will make further payments should it exercise the option and take up the license.

Alpha radiation is of particular interest in fighting cancer because, provided it can be delivered to the tumor site, it has the potential to effectively destroy cancer cells while at the same time limiting delivery to the local area and thus sparing the surrounding healthy tissue. This greatly reduces side effects, making the therapy an attractive alternative.

"Lumiphore's goal is to bring the benefits of bifunctional metal-chelation technology to therapeutic markets that use targeted radiopharmaceuticals to treat cancer. The ability to chelate radioactive metal isotopes and covalently attach them to therapeutic antibodies, peptides, proteins, or other receptor targeting molecules will benefit targeted delivery to cancer sites and has the potential to make current therapeutic antibodies more effective," said Dr. Ken Raymond, President and CEO of Lumiphore.

Algeta holds a proprietary technology involving the use of thorium-227, an isotope that emits high-energy alpha particles, to target and destroy cancer cells. Such isotopes are of considerable interest in the treatment of cancer as they are potent at killing tumor cells but have a highly localized effect. By linking thorium-227 to tumor-targeting molecules such as monoclonal antibodies, Algeta has the potential to create a pipeline of new generation alpha-pharmaceuticals designed to specifically seek and destroy cancers while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissues.

"Using Lumi4® bifunctional chelates could create a new class of radioimmunotherapeutics," explained Thomas Ramdahl, Chief Technology Officer of Algeta. "By linking thorium-227 to selected tumor targeting antibodies using existing non-proprietary chelates, Algeta has already demonstrated in vivo the potential of its proprietary technology for enhancing the performance of radio-immunotherapies based on existing clinical antibodies. We believe that the new chelators will provide even better results."

Algeta is a world leader in the medical application of alpha emitters and in the development of the alpha-pharmaceuticals, an entirely new class of cancer treatment pharmaceuticals which incorporate these, using drug-coupled alpha emitters to target and destroy cancer cells.

Lumiphore has other existing partnerships with Thermo Fisher Scientific Specialty Diagnostics for certain diagnostic tests in both laboratory and point-of-care formats, such as for Downs Syndrome; with CisBio International, for the drug discovery research market; and with Biophor Diagnostics Inc. for diagnostic tests for drugs of abuse.

Disclaimer:
This notice constitutes neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of offers to purchase or subscribe to securities. There will be no public offering of securities of Nanostart AG in conjunction with the existing listing of its shares in the "Entry Standard" segment of the regulated unofficial market (Freiverkehr) on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. This notice does not constitute a securities prospectus. Neither this notice nor the information contained within is intended for direct or indirect distribution within the Canada, Australia or Japan.

####

About Nanostart
Nanostart AG, headquartered in the German financial capital of Frankfurt, is the world’s leading nanotechnology investment company, with portfolio companies spanning the globe from Silicon Valley to Singapore. The company provides venture capital financing for nanotechnology companies in various growth phases with a focus on innovation-driven industries of the future such as cleantech, life sciences and IT/electronics. Through its subsidiary and venture capital fund in Singapore, Nanostart is proud to be the investment partner of the Singaporean government. For further information about the company, please visit www.nanostart.de.

About Lumiphore
Based in Richmond, California, Lumiphore Inc. is a biotechnology leader in the development of proprietary fluorescent-metal lanthanide and chelation technology for use in high-value imaging and therapeutic applications which are commercialized through market-specific alliances with corporate partners. Lumiphore has exclusive licenses to the basic science developed at the University of California, Berkeley in the laboratory of Professor Kenneth N. Raymond, a world expert on lanthanide and actinide chemistry. Lumi4® is a registered mark of Lumiphore Inc. For more information about Lumiphore, visit www.lumiphore.com.

About Algeta
Algeta ASA is a focused oncology company based in Oslo, Norway, and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: ALGETA) which develops novel targeted therapies for cancer patients based on its platform for alpha-pharmaceuticals, a new class of cancer therapeutic that utilizes the attractive properties of alpha-particle emitters to destroy cancer cells. Algeta’s lead product Alpharadin (based on radium-223) is a first-in-class, highly targeted alpha-pharmaceutical under clinical evaluation to improve survival in patients with bone metastases from advanced cancer. Its localized action helps preserve the surrounding healthy tissue thereby limiting side effects. The development of bone metastases represents a serious development for cancer patients as they are associated with a dramatic decline in patient health and quality of life, ultimately leading to death. Bone metastases represent a major unmet medical need, occurring in up to 90% of certain late-stage cancers, e.g. prostate, breast and lung. More information may be found at www.algeta.com.

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Media contact:
Nanostart AG
Public Relations
Dr. Hans Joachim Dürr
Goethestrasse 26-28
D-60313 Frankfurt
Germany
phone: +49 (0)69-21 93 96 111
fax: +49 (0)69-21 93 96

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark: