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[COben]

Hallo, ich denke es lohnt sich heute Protein Design Lab einmal anzuschauen. Gute Kurse

[Der Knorkator]

Was zum Henker ist da los? Good news??? Oder nur Trade? In USA ist sie leicht im Minus.....

[Renditejäger]

Na, wenn das nicht good news sind:



PR Newswire:


Protein Design Labs Announces Joint Development Agreement With Toagosei For Humanized Anti-VEGF Antibody and Initiation of a Phase I Clinical Trial

FREMONT, Calif., May 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Protein Design Labs, Inc. (PDL) (Nasdaq: PDLI) today announced that it has entered into a licensing and joint development agreement with Toagosei Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, (Toagosei) for an antibody developed by Toagosei and humanized by PDL. The antibody, SMART(TM) Anti-VEGF, binds to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a protein that regulates new blood vessel formation in certain tissues and in tumors. PDL and Toagosei will develop the antibody for potential uses in the treatment of cancer. PDL also announced that a Phase I clinical trial using SMART Anti-VEGF was initiated in January 2000 in Europe under the auspices of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).

Under the agreement, which was signed in July 1999, PDL has obtained exclusive development and marketing rights to SMART Anti-VEGF in North America and the first option to obtain exclusive rights to market the antibody in Europe and other markets, except Japan. Toagosei has exclusive rights to market SMART Anti-VEGF in Japan. PDL will direct the clinical development program, and the companies will share development costs and profits from sales of the antibody, if any, in markets outside Japan.

The Phase I, open-label, multicenter study is evaluating escalating doses of SMART Anti-VEGF in patients with relapsed or refractory solid tumors. Up to 25 patients are expected to be enrolled at four centers in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Sweden. The primary objectives of the trial are to evaluate the preliminary tolerability and safety of the antibody and to establish the optimum biologically active dose.

"VEGF appears to be critical for tumor angiogenesis and as such is a very promising target for the treatment of cancer," said Daniel J. Levitt, M.D., Ph.D., President, Research and Development. "Inhibition of angiogenesis, or blood vessel formation, in tumors may restrict tumor volume and reduce or prevent tumor metastasis. An antibody to VEGF has already been reported in Phase II clinical trials to have potential for the treatment of metastatic colorectal and non-small cell lung cancer. In experiments conducted at Toagosei, SMART Anti-VEGF has shown potent activity in inhibiting the growth of a large number of highly diverse human tumors growing in nude mice. Particularly encouraging results were obtained with SMART Anti-VEGF in combination with chemotherapy, including paclitaxel. Therefore, we are enthusiastic about the potential for the Toagosei-PDL antibody in several cancer types and look forward to a full clinical development program in Europe, Japan and the U.S. We are especially pleased to be collaborating with the EORTC, the premier cancer treatment consortium in Europe."

"Our collaboration with PDL for the humanization of our anti-VEGF antibody has been very successful," said Sako Suzuki, Senior Managing Director and Representative Director, Toagosei. "We are pleased to have entered into this joint development agreement and look forward to a mutually beneficial long-term association with PDL." Toagosei made an equity investment in PDL in 1997.

"The SMART Anti-VEGF Antibody is an important addition to PDL`s growing portfolio of antibodies directed at oncologic targets," said Robert L. Kirkman, M.D., Vice President, Business Development and Corporate Communications. "Including SMART Anti-VEGF, PDL now has four antibodies in development for potential oncologic indications: the SMART M195 Antibody for myeloid leukemias, the SMART 1D10 Antibody for non-Hodgkin`s lymphoma, and the SMART Anti-CD3 Antibody, which is expected to enter clinical development shortly for T cell malignancies. Overall, PDL now has nine humanized antibodies in clinical trials."

Protein Design Labs, Inc. is a leader in the development of humanized antibodies to prevent or treat various disease conditions. PDL currently has antibodies under development for autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, transplantation and cancer. PDL holds fundamental patents in the U.S., Europe and Japan for its antibody humanization technology. Further information on PDL is available through the Company`s website at www.pdl.com.