Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Dyax licenses antibody identifier to Aveo

By Mass High Tech Staff

Cambridge life science firms Dyax Corp. and AVEO Pharmaceuticals Inc. have announced a licensing agreement in which Aveo can gain access to a non-exclusive license for Dyax phage display technology.

The licensed technology refers to phage libraries that identify human antibodies associated with cell surface protein targets, including viral antigens, enzymes and tumor cell markers.

Aveo plans to use the license to develop antibody drug delivery systems.

License terms include annual license fees, clinical milestone payments and royalties for Dyax on Aveo products using the Dyax technology.

Dyax (Nasdaq: DYAX), which is focused on discovery and development of antibody, protein and peptide drugs, reported a 2007 net loss of $56.3 million on revenue of $26.1 million. The firm employs a total of 177 workers.

The company has made a few license agreements. In February, Dyax announced that it had entered into a license agreement with Paris-based sanofi-aventis, giving an exclusive worldwide license to the French pharmaceutical company for the tumor-fighting monoclonal antibody DX-2240. It also signed a third extension of the antibody library collaboration in November with New York-based ImClone Systems Inc. for the discovery of therapeutic antibodies, officials report.

Privately held Aveo, a biopharmaceuticals company, was founded in 2002 as GenPath Pharmaceuticals Inc. The company, which has raised more than $100 million in venture funding, is focused on the discovery and development of targeted treatments for cancer. In May, company officials reported that Aveo has completed enrollment in a Phase 2 clinical trial of a drug to treat patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).