Targon And Duke Cancer Center Sign $3.75 Million Agreement To Produce Advanced Anti-Ca...( CYTOGEN Corporation and ...),Health

CYTOGEN Corporation and the Duke University Medical Center announce the formation of a research collaboration between Targon Corporation and the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. The terms of the agreement call for Targon's provision of $3.75 million, over the next three years, to support research and further testing of advanced anti-cancer drugs.

Under the research agreement, one half of the funds are designated for drug/technology discovery grants that will support research on identified reagents/technologies that warrant continued research via clinical studies. The remaining portion of the funds will support pre-clinical and clinical trials of new compounds developed at Duke, or other institutions, which are currently identified as Investigational New Drug (IND) candidates.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration grants IND designation based on results of pre-clinical research findings; an IND designation permits commencement of human clinical trials. As part of the agreement, Targon will be granted an option to license products and technology from directly funded programs.

Additionally, Targon will receive a right of first review of certain inventions in the field of cancer therapy made by Duke during the term of the agreement. Targon will have a period of exclusive review for such inventions. Both parties hope that Targon's early and exclusive review of new technologies will lead to additional interactions between Duke and Targon and to rapid development of commercially viable products for the oncology community.

"This remarkable agreement promises to significantly accelerate the progress of new cancer treatments from laboratory to clinic," said Ralph Snyderman, M.D., Chancellor for Health Affairs, Duke University Medical Center."Such collaborations between an industrial partner committed to rapid commercialization of life-saving treatments and a cancer center with a r
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Contact: Dennis Meredith
Dennis@dukenews.duke.edu
919-681-8054
Duke University
20-Jan-1998