When finalized, the license will grant Protox exclusive worldwide rights to commercialize a genetically modified Aerolysin-antibody construct developed by the research institutions as a targeted therapy for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer.
The specific terms of the final agreement are expected to include the payment of an upfront licensing fee as well as milestone and royalty payments. Negotiations to complete the final license agreement are currently underway.
“The licensing agreement is the next step in our strategy to link Aerolysin with an antibody in order to develop our product pipeline, as well as to generate partnering opportunities with antibody companies,” said Tazdin Esmail, president & CEO of Protox. “The in vitro work completed to date has been very encouraging and we are moving forward to begin in vivo testing of the therapeutic.”
Protox is working with the Antibody Engineering research group at the National Research Council in order to link Aerolysin to a single domain antibody that binds to lung cancer cells. Protox also intends to pursue other targets, by linking Aerolysin to antibodies specific to other forms of cancer such as Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and breast cancer.