RPC' Wholly-Owned Subsidiary NuVax Therapeutics Signs Exclusive License Agreement with University of Florida
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Radient Pharmaceuticals Corporation has announced, its wholly-owned subsidiary NuVax Therapeutics, Inc., has signed an exclusive license agreement with the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, Florida for the use and commercialization of four innovative and patented immune-gene therapy tools and systems developed by Dr. Lung-Ji Chang, Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at University of Florida's Research Center.
NuVax is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing novel immune-gene therapeutics that have the potential to significantly impact and extend the quality of life for cancer patients. Under the terms of today's agreement, NuVax plans to leverage the four newly licensed tools and systems for selective targeting of patient tumor cells to invoke a stronger immune response in cancer patients.
The new tools and systems are anticipated to allow NuVax to develop three separate cancer therapeutics for the treatment of Multi Myeloma, Pancreatic Cancer and Lung Cancer. Financial terms of the licensing agreement are not disclosed.
Dr. Lung-Ji Chang also developed the Combined Immunogene Therapy ("CIT") - a patented (patent issued May 25, 2004) cancer therapy owned by NuVax. CIT is a novel immune-gene therapy that works by simultaneously incorporating two genes directly into the patient's tumor cells to enhance their immune system's natural ability to destroy other cancer cells.
CIT targets cancer cells for immunological attack, while simultaneously stimulating a stronger immune response against the tumor cells. Dr. Chang serves as an advisor to NuVax for the continued development of CIT and other gene therapies. NuVax has full rights to CIT.
According to RPC Chairman and CEO Mr. Douglas MacLellan, "We are very excited that NuVax has negotiated and signed these exclusive licensing agreements, which further strengthen our relationship with Dr. Lung-Ji Chang and the University of Florida research team. We believe they are among the top leaders in the research and development of cancer therapies and technologies and are pleased to advance our strategic relationship with the team. We plan to leverage our experience and expertise in product development, manufacturing, regulatory approvals, and sales and marketing to fully commercialize these new therapies and technologies as rapidly as possible."
"These licensing agreements are part of NuVax's strategic initiative to expand its presence in the lucrative cancer therapy market which is estimated to be $50 billion worldwide," commented NuVax President and CEO Dr. Umesh Bhatia. "The addition of these advanced, innovative tools and systems licensed today, in addition to our current CIT technology, provides both RPC and NuVax with a highly competitive market position and we remain focused on advancing and commercializing our growing product portfolio."
