Today's newsAdherex Technologies Inc. Quick Quote: T.AHX 0.51 (+0.03)
Adherex Expands Patent Protection for Vascular Targeting Agents to Include Anti-Angiogenics; Company Receives US Patent for VE-cadherin Blocking Antibodies
7/15/03
OTTAWA, Jul 15, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Adherex Technologies Inc. (TSX:AHX), an Ottawa-based biopharmaceutical company, today announced it was issued a new US patent for antibodies that bind to and block the function of the cell adhesion molecule called vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin. Adherex is developing a new class of anti-cancer drugs based on this technology that specifically target tumor blood vessels.
'World and industry opinion leaders are recognizing the need for innovative approaches to cancer treatment and agents that target a tumor's blood supply are at the forefront of this new paradigm,'said Dr. Orest Blaschuk, Chief Scientist and Co-Founder of Adherex. 'Vascular targeting agents take advantage of differences between cancerous and normal blood vessels. They target blood vessels within a tumor and cut off the blood supply that a cancer needs to survive. Two types of vascular targeting agents are anti-angiogenic compounds, which prevent new blood vessels from forming, and angiolytic compounds like our compound Exherin(TM), which destroy existing blood vessels.'
'VE-cadherin is required for maintaining the structural integrity of blood vessels,'explains Dr. William P. Peters, Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of Adherex. 'We and others have shown that peptides, chemical small molecules and antibodies that block VE-cadherin function can disrupt vascular integrity, destroy existing blood vessels (angiolysis) and prevent new blood vessels from forming (anti-angiogenesis). This new patent covers antibody-based VE-cadherin blocking agents and allows us to further extend our already issued claims with peptides for vascular targeting which our company has been pioneering. We now have multiple molecules - peptides, small chemical compounds and antibodies - which have potency both as angiolytics and as anti-angiogenics.'