Abraxis BioScience Signs Licensing Agreement with University of Southern California

Abraxis BioScience, Inc. has announced an agreement with the University of Southern California (USC) that provides Abraxis with the exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights for an intellectual property portfolio of diagnostic protein biomarkers for therapy response, therapy toxicity and disease recurrence in colorectal cancers (CRCs). Financial terms were not disclosed.

The intellectual property licensed is based on USC research by Associate Professor of Medicine Heinz-Joseph Lenz and colleagues. USC Stevens Institute for Innovation facilitated the licensing transaction. While surgery currently is the treatment of choice in earlier stages of colorectal disease, the research team, led by Dr. Lenz of the Norris Cancer Center in the USC Keck School of Medicine, discovered a broad range of molecular biomarkers and diagnostic tools that may better predict therapy response rate, the overall outcome and survival rate for patients with CRC.

The goal of this continued research is to combine prognostic markers with specific therapeutic agents, which would enable clinicians to tailor therapy to the molecular profile of the patient while minimizing life-threatening toxicities.

“The era of predictive, personalized evidence-based medicine has arrived. This type of research is only the beginning as we embark upon the future of personalized medicine and empower physicians to provide customized therapy for each patient they treat,” said Patrick Soon-Shiong, M.D., chairman and chief executive officer of Abraxis BioScience. “We look forward to continuing the work of Dr. Lenz and value the commitment of USC to bring these discoveries to widespread clinical application both as therapeutic tools and diagnostic discovery.”

In recent years, research studies on a global scale have attempted to define subsets of biochemical markers that may be useful predictors of response to treatment (evaluated through clinical response, toxicity and time to disease progression) and prognostic markers which are equally as important in determining the aggressiveness of CRC as well as other diseases.

“Many CRC patients succumb to their disease and a significant proportion will experience severe treatment-associated toxicities while deriving little or no benefit. The licensing agreement with Abraxis, and the furthering of this research, could help to overcome this significant concern and enable physicians to select the most effective and least toxic therapy for patients with colorectal cancer,” said Professor Lenz.

“USC is committed to innovation - the process of translating new ideas into tangible societal impact,” said Krisztina Holly, USC Vice Provost and Executive Director for the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation. “The relationship with Abraxis Bioscience is a perfect example of how the right partnership can transfer research from lab to market, with the goal of making a difference in people’s lives.”