MedImmune, Avidia enter development, licensing deal on anti-cancer products

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, Oct. 20 - MedImmune, Inc. announced Wednesday that it has entered into a licensing and collaboration agreement with Avidia, Inc. to develop anti-cancer products targeting cMET, a receptor tyrosine kinase found in high levels in certain cancer cells.

In a company news release, officials said MedImune will be responsible for clinical development and commercialization of products resulting from the agreement. Avidia will provide research and development support and receive an undisclosed upfront fee, development and regulatory support and royalties on any future marketed products.

The collaboration calls for the development of two additional targets using Avidia's Avimer technology. Avimers, which are small, stable proteins that can act like antibodies and bind selectively to different receptors or ligands, may have several advantages as therapeutic products in terms of biological activity, tissue distribution, reduced immunogenicity and improved manufacturing efficiencies, officials said.

MedImmune officials said they first were introduced to Avidia's Avimer technology in 2004, when its venture capital subsidiary, MedImmune Ventures, participated in Avidia's series B financing.

"We have been impressed with Avidia's progress, and look forward to combining our growing expertise in the field of tyrosine kinase research with the Avimer technology to develop anti-cancer product candidates," Peter A. Kiener, MedImmune's senior vice president of research, said in the release.

MedImmune is a Gaithersburg, Md. pharmaceutical company that markets the FluMist influenza vaccine and other products.

Avidia is a privately held biopharmaceutical company based in Mountain View, Calif. and focuses on development of a novel, proprietary class of small therapeutic proteins.

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