Du Pont gets rights to infection tracer

Du Pont Merck Pharmaceuticalhas signed an agreement with Johnson & Johnson subsidiaryOrtho Pharmaceutical that gives Du Pont exclusive rights outsidethe Pacific Rim to Ortho's Macroscint agent for infection imaging.The agent is a human immunoglobulin protein that is labeled withindium-111.

Du Pont of North Billerica, MA, claims that Macroscint is uniquein that it allows nuclear medicine physicians to conduct infectionimaging without the hazards and inconvenience associated withhandling blood from patients. Currently, infection imaging isconducted by drawing a patient's blood, labeling the white bloodcells with a radiotracer and injecting it back into the patient.With Macroscint, physicians inject the radiotracer into the patientlike any other radiopharmaceutical, according to Alan Carpenter,Du Pont's director of business development and planning.

Macroscint has completed phase-three clinical trials and DuPont is preparing a product license application (PLA) to the Foodand Drug Administration.

Du Pont will pay a licensing fee to Ortho for sales of Macroscintas part of the deal. In addition, Du Pont will acquire exclusiverights relating to basic research technology involving infectionimaging and technetium chemistry, according to Carpenter.