Aventis Pharma Licences Innovative New Anti-Cancer Agent

16-Jul-2001

The worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and market AVE8062 (previously known as AC-7700), a novel compound designed to attack tumor cells by cutting off a tumor’s vital supply of blood, has been licensed to Aventis Pharma through an agreement with Ajinomoto Co., Inc. of Japan. Aventis Pharma, the pharmaceutical company of Aventis SA, is a world leader in cancer drug development and commercialization.

This agent, AVE8062, represents a new strategy for the treatment of solid tumors. AVE8062 works by targeting existing tumor blood vessels that supply critical nutrients and oxygen to tumor cells. In vitro it inhibits tubulin polymerization, a critical step in the cell division process, acting on both proliferating endothelial cells and on tumor cells. In animal studies, AVE8062 produces a rapid and extensive blood flow shutdown of the established tumor vasculature. AVE8062 has been shown to be active against many different tumor types with activity observed in late stage disease usually unresponsive to chemotherapy. Early clinical studies in humans are expected to begin later this year in the US and Europe.

“The blood supply is critical to the development and continued growth of tumor cells”, says Roy Herbst, Assistant Professor, Thoracic/Head & Neck Medical Oncology Center at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, “If you cut off this supply to the tumor, then the affected cells are compromised and then die. This type of approach represents a new paradigm for the treatment of solid tumors. These new targeted therapies may be more effective and more specific, and hence less toxic. They can hopefully be used in combination with chemotherapy or as maintenance therapy to prevent or delay cancer recurrence.”

Under the agreement Aventis receives worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and market the product in exchange for certain milestone payments and, ultimately, royalty payments to Ajinomoto.

“We are delighted that this innovative compound, AVE8062, will be further developed and brought to market by Aventis Pharma, a leading company with expertise and worldwide presence in the oncology area,” said Mr. Keiichiro Aihara, Executive Managing Director and General Manager of the Pharmaceutical Division for Ajinomoto Co., Inc. “This agreement strengthens our position as an R&D driven pharmaceutical company, and it is our hope that in the future, cancer patients and their families will be able to benefit from this new technology.”

“This agreement with Ajinomoto underscores Aventis’ commitment to studying and developing innovative, leading edge anti-cancer agents,” said Frank Douglas, MD, PhD., Executive Vice President and Head of Drug Innovation & Approval at Aventis Pharma. “Ajinomoto has discovered a very interesting and promising agent that fits well into the rapidly growing portfolio of oncology drugs that are being studied by Aventis.”

Aventis currently markets Taxotere® (docetaxel), one of the world’s most widely prescribed chemotherapeutic agents, and outside the U.S. and Japan the company markets Campto® (irinotecan), the current reference treatment for advanced colorectal cancer. Aventis has a rich pipeline of investigational oncology compounds including flavopiridol, a novel cell cycle inhibitor; 109881, a third generation taxoid drug that may offer benefits over available taxoids; LIT976, a new formulation of Taxotere® designed to have an improved safety profile; and the ALVAC cancer vaccines being developed through Aventis Pasteur. Aventis also has on-going partnerships with Aphton Pharmaceuticals for G17DT, a novel immunotherapy initially targeted for gastrointestinal cancers, and MediGene AG for a vaccine to treat malignant melanoma.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/3909/aventis-pharma-licences-innovative-new-anti-cancer-agent.html