WOONSOCKET, R.I., March 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- MultiCell
Immunotherapeutics, Inc. (MCIT), a majority owned subsidiary of
MultiCell Technologies, Inc. (OTC: MCET) announced today it has
signed a research & development and product license agreement
with Oxis Biotech, Inc. (OXIS) to create three novel antibody-drug
conjugates (ADCs) containing OXIS' lead drug candidates using
MCIT's proprietary ADC platform technology. These ADC product
candidates are to be used by OXIS for the treatment of
triple-negative breast cancer, and multiple myeloma and associated
osteolytic lesions which are significant unmet medical needs.
Under the terms of the agreement, OXIS paid MCIT a license fee
of $500,000, and will reimburse MCIT
up to $1.125 million in development
costs for the three ADC product candidates. Oxis will also
pay up to $12.75 million in clinical
development milestones, and was granted an option to purchase
manufacturing rights to the three ADCs upon payment of an
additional $10 million. OXIS
was also granted a worldwide exclusive license to sell the three
ADC product candidates, and will pay a royalty of 3% of net yearly
sales. MCIT retained all rights to its ADC platform for all
therapeutic indications, and is free to pursue its own drug
development programs and to partner with other interested
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
Sales of breast cancer drugs are projected to increase in nine
major world markets from $9.8 billion
in 2013 to $18.2 billion by 2023,
according to new forecasts from IMS Health. Analysts at
Visiongain, Ltd. predict the world market for multiple myeloma
therapies will reach $11.5 billion in
2017.
According to FiercePharma, Celgene's cancer drug Revlimid® for the
treatment of multiple myeloma generated nearly $5 billion in revenue for the company in
2014. Analysts believe sales of Revlimid could double within
5 years as a result of FDA's recent approval of expanded labeling
concerning the use of Revlimid in combination with dexamethasone
for patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma. About
93,600 patients are living with multiple myeloma in Europe and about 88,499 patients are living
with it in the United States,
Celgene said.
PDL BioPharma, Inc. stated
its licensee Genentech, Inc. reported sales of Herceptin® which is
used to treat HER2 breast cancer totaled $7.3 billion in 2014. Of the 280,000
patients in the USA diagnosed
annually with breast cancer, about 20% are diagnosed with
triple-negative breast cancer. Treatment options for
triple-negative breast cancer patients are limited because the
three most common types of receptors known to fuel most breast
cancer growth – estrogen, progesterone, and the HER-2/neu gene –
are not present in the triple-negative breast cancer cells, hence
patients are ineligible for treatment with either hormonal or
HER2-targeted agents such as Herceptin. Treatment typically
involves non-targeted cytotoxic chemotherapies.
The Emmes Group, a strategy consulting firm with offices in
Boston and San Francisco, believes if OXIS achieves all
of its clinical development milestones, purchases manufacturing
rights to the ADCs, and meets worldwide sales and sublicensing
expectations following receipt of marketing approval for the three
ADCs for the treatment of breast cancer and multiple myeloma, MCIT
could expect to receive in excess of $540
million during the term of the agreement.
MCIT's ADC platform technology is based on unique multivalent,
cleavable linkers that allow tethered drugs to be released
intracellularly or extracellularly upon binding of the antibody to
the target cell. Additionally, the MCIT linkers are designed
to attach multiple drugs per targeting antibody, and to release the
drugs in their original form without modification of the drug.
"We are very excited about our novel, enabling antibody-drug
conjugate technology, and are pleased to partner with Oxis Biotech
to develop targeted delivery versions of their drug candidates",
said W. Gerald Newmin, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of MultiCell Immunotherapeutics. "We
continue to explore therapeutic indications and drug combinations
of interest to us, and will continue to aggressively seek
partnerships with larger pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies
who are interested in using our ADC technology to help facilitate
the targeted delivery of their drugs," stated Mr. Newmin.
About MultiCell Immunotherapeutics
MultiCell Immunotherapeutics, Inc. (MCIT), a majority owned
subsidiary of MultiCell Technologies, Inc. [OTC: MCET], is a
biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics and drug
delivery platform technologies to treat a variety of human
diseases. MCIT's next-generation antibody drug conjugates
provide for the simultaneous targeted delivery of multiple drugs
from a single antibody. This unique, targeted co-delivery
capability enables the localization of both drugs within a target
cell where they exert their biological effect and helps to minimize
adverse off-target effects.
About MultiCell Technologies
MultiCell Technologies, Inc. is a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics and
discovery tools for the treatment of neurological disorders,
hepatic disease and cancer. For more information about
MultiCell Technologies, please visit
http://www.multicelltech.com.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about MultiCell's
expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future
events or performance are not historical facts and are
forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). These statements
are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases
such as "believe", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate",
"intend", "plan", "forecast", "could", and "would". MultiCell bases
these forward- looking statements on current expectations about
future events. They involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results, levels
of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from
those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement.
Some of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause
actual results to differ materially from estimates or projections
in the forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to,
the risk that we might not achieve our anticipated clinical
development milestones, receive regulatory approval, or
successfully commercialize our products as expected, the market for
our products will not grow as expected, and the risk that our
products will not achieve expectations. For additional
information about risks and uncertainties MultiCell faces, see
documents that MultiCell files with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including MultiCell's report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended November 30, 2014,
and all of MultiCell's quarterly and other periodic SEC
filings. MultiCell claims the protection of the safe harbor
for forward-looking statements under the Act and assumes no
obligation and expressly disclaims any duty to update any
forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after
the date of this news release or to reflect the occurrence of
subsequent events.
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SOURCE MultiCell Immunotherapeutics, Inc.