On August 12, 2004 Pharminox Limited, ("Pharminox" or "The Company") a private, small-molecule oncology research and development company that was formed out of Oxford University in 2002, has reported signing a second agreement with Cancer Research Technology Limited (CRT), the technology transfer company of the charity Cancer Research UK(Press release, Cancer Research Technology, AUG 12, 2004, View Source [SID1234523447]).
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The agreement gives Pharminox an exclusive 12-month option to licence the worldwide rights to Phortress, the lead compound in a class of novel anti-tumour agents, and related compounds for development and commercialisation.
Phortress, whose mechanism of action is distinct from all other classes of chemotherapeutic agents currently available, was discovered by Professor Malcolm Stevens and co-workers in his Cancer Research UK sponsored research group based at Nottingham University. Preclinical research studies have shown that Phortress is active in vivo against human breast, ovarian and colon xenografts. A Cancer Research UK sponsored Phase I trial to determine the maximum tolerated dose of Phortress has been initiated, under the direction of Professor Calvert at the Northern Centre for Cancer Treatment in Newcastle.
In December 2003 Pharminox signed it’s first licensing agreement with CRT, which gave the Company the worldwide development and commercialisation rights to a novel series of anti-tumour compounds known as quinols that are currently in preclinical development.
IP2IPO Group plc, the AIM listed intellectual property company that commercialises university technology, holds a 14% equity stake in Pharminox.
Commenting on the announcement, Sue Barrowcliffe, CEO of Pharminox, said: "The latest agreement with CRT provides access to a clinical stage compound and therefore represents a major step forward in the process of building Pharminox into an exciting oncology research and development company."
Professor Malcolm Stevens OBE, Cancer Research UK Professor of Experimental Cancer Chemotherapy and Chief Scientific Officer of Pharminox Limited, stated: "I am delighted that this small but dynamic UK company is to be given the opportunity to develop these very exciting novel anti-tumour agents. I am particularly pleased that this agreement will allow close co-operation with the inventors of the compounds through the critical early stages of development."
Harpal Kumar, CRT’s CEO, added: "I am pleased that CRT has had the opportunity to facilitate the continued development of this novel cancer chemotherapeutic under the auspices of Professor Stevens and in so doing strengthening our relationship with Pharminox."