Immune Response and NovaRx revise licencing

Published: 8-Sep-2004

The Immune Response Corporation and NovaRx, have signed a licensing agreement to transfer all of The Immune Response Corporation's in-licensed development and marketing rights of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center's (SKCC) patent portfolio for cancer cell line vaccines to NovaRx.


The Immune Response Corporation and NovaRx, have signed a licensing agreement to transfer all of The Immune Response Corporation's in-licensed development and marketing rights of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center's (SKCC) patent portfolio for cancer cell line vaccines to NovaRx.

In addition, NovaRx agreed to pay The Immune Response Corporation the total sum of $1,050,000, including an upfront fee and a final payment due on or before August of 2007. The Immune Response Corpo-ration had previously licensed the cancer cell vaccine technology from SKCC in 1994.

'When I joined the company early last year, we began a strategic re-focus of The Immune Response Corporation in the areas of HIV and MS and this transaction further supports that business objective,' said Dr John Bonfiglio, chief executive officer of The Immune Response Corporation.

'We are focused exclusively on the development of cancer vaccines and are delighted that we will be in a position to realise increased profitability through roy-alty reduction once the products under development become commercially available.' said Dr Habib Fakhrai, president and ceo of NovaRx. 'As one of the inventors of the technology, I have already worked with SKCC successfully on both our brain cancer and lung cancer therapeutic vaccines. Our product to treat individuals with non-small cell lung cancer is in a Phase II clinical trial, which has been fully enrolled 14 months ahead of schedule, and we look forward to the further expansion of our cancer research as a result of this agreement.'

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