Diatide partner Angstrom wins cancer patent

Therapeutic radiopharmaceutical developer Angstrom Pharmaceuticals has won a patent for the treatment of metastatic cancer, according to research partner Diatide. The patent strengthens both companies’ efforts to develop anticancer therapeutic products.

In March, Diatide and Angstrom created a license agreement that gives Diatide exclusive rights to tumor imaging and anticancer therapeutics based on Angstrom’s uPAR (urokinase plasminogen activator receptor) targeting technology. The agreement stipulates that Diatide will pay Angstrom research and milestone payments, as well as royalties on product sales (SCAN 4/28/99). The firms are working together on research that combines Diatide’s peptide analog development expertise with Angstrom’s knowledge of uPAR-binding peptides.

UPAR is found on the surface of almost all solid tumors, including breast, prostate, colon, and lung. The two firms believe that targeting these receptors with radiotherapeutic agents could obstruct tumor growth. Angstrom’s latest patent covers a broad class of cyclic peptides that bind to uPAR.

In other Diatide news, the Londonderry, NH, company’s NeoTect lung tumor agent has begun shipping. NeoTect received Food and Drug Administration clearance last month (SCAN 8/18/99). Diatide has a marketing partnership with Nycomed Amersham, although the Buckinghamshire, U.K., firm sold its share in the U.S. company in June (SCAN 6/23/99).