Targeted Genetics Receives Exclusive License To Technology
SEATTLE -- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) and Targeted Genetics Corporation (Nasdaq: TGEN) announce that they have received notification from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office regarding the issuance of patent #5,827,642 entitled " Rapid Expansion Method ("REM") for in vitro Propagation of T Lymphocytes."
The patent covers technology used to expand antigen-specific T cells for use in adoptive immunotherapy techniques, which has the potential to treat diseases such as cancer as well as viral infections. This technology was developed by Stanley R. Riddell, M.D., and Philip D. Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D., researchers in the Hutchinson Center's Clinical Research Division and professors at the University of Washington. Greenberg is also a member of Targeted Genetics' Scientific Advisory Board. The Hutchinson Center has exclusively licensed this technology to Targeted Genetics.
"Adoptive immunotherapy represents a potentially powerful tool in the treatment of infectious disease and cancer," says Riddell. "Previous studies have demonstrated that T lymphocytes play a crucial role in eliminating virally infected or cancerous cells from the body. However, clinical application of adoptive immunotherapy has been difficult because the technology to expand antigen-specific cells while retaining function has not been readily available. The REM technology enables the production of sufficient numbers of cells capable of eliminating infected or malignant cells to make adoptive immunotherapy a viable therapeutic approach."
Researchers at Targeted Genetics and the Hutchinson Center have leveraged the
REM technology to develop methods for genetically modifying cytotoxic T cells
(CTL) to enhance their function by providing key proteins that may be lacking in
certain disease settings, such as AIDS. Additionally, REM expansion modified
CTLs could be
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Contact: Susan Edmonds
sedmonds@fhcrc.org
206-667-2896
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
27-Oct-1998