Dealmakers

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Vancouver, BC) has come to a mutual agreement with C.R. Bard Inc. (Murray Hill, NJ) to terminate the licence agreement both firms had entered into in 1998. The agreement was primarily focused on Angiotech’s paclitaxel-loaded biodegradable vascular wrap for use in peripheral vascular surgery. Angiotech retains its responsibility for the research program on the wrap, and plans to continue to independently develop the product.


Yes Biotech Laboratories Ltd. (Mississauga, ON) has partnered with Asia Pacific Biotech Co. Ltd., the Shanghai Science and Technology Investment Co. (Shanghai City, China) and Pudong Science & Technology Investment Co. (Pudong, China) in a joint venture to create the Asia United Antibody Medical Co. Ltd. in Pudong’s Shanghai (Z.J.) Hi-Tech Park. An initial investment of $6 million US has already been made, and a further investment is to be secured by the end of 2004.


Calgary, Alta.-based Resverlogix Corp. has announced the terms for its cancer therapeutic technology acquisition, which was announced last June. Resverlogix acquired the technology from Dr. Norman C.W. Wong and Koichiro Mihara, PhD, both from the University of Calgary (Calgary, AB), to commence commercialization of the technology. Among the terms, Resverlogix has agreed to pay each of the vendors a 5% royalty on future licensing revenues up to and including $20 million, and a 10% royalty on future licensing revenues in excess of $20 million. The latter applies only to licensing revenues earned up to June 23, 2013, and only valid if a licensing agreement is signed with a third party by June 23, 2008.


ChondroGene Ltd. (Toronto, ON) and the Canadian Arthritis Network (CAN) (Toronto, ON) have entered into a new research collaboration that will make ChondroGene’s proprietary technology and tools available to CAN researchers. In return, ChondroGene will have access to CAN’s research activities at academic institutions Canada-wide.


Victoria, B.C.-based Stressgen Biotech-nologies Corp. and F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd. (Basel, Switzerland) have broadened their heat shock protein partnership. The new agreement divides the human papillomavirus (HPV) program for HspE7 products into two separate and distinctive programs. The first program stipulates that Stressgen can develop its current, first-generation HspE7 products for the treatment of all HPV-related diseases except genital warts. The separate milestone and royalty structure of the second program gives Roche the option to globally develop a second-generation HspE7 product exclusively for genital warts.