Genmab licenses cancer target from Ganymed

Danish biotech company Genmab and Ganymed Pharmaceuticals, of Germany, have reached an agreement whereby Genmab will license Ganymed's GT43 cancer target.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ganymed will be entitled to license fees, milestones and royalties on the sale of successfully commercialised products.

The target is expressed on a wide range of tumors, including melanoma, breast cancer, lung cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma.

The GT43 target is expressed on the cell membrane of cancer cells but not on normal tissues of any essential organ and has demonstrated a role in cell signalling. In particular, it is upstream in a signalling pathway involved in cell survival. Laboratory studies have shown that the inhibition of the target resulted in a markedly decreased cell migration. It was also demonstrated that expression of GT43 is strongly correlated with metastasis in patients with breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.

'Ganymed's skill in identifying and validating disease targets has led to the discovery of GT43, a target expressed in a wide variety of cancer cells,' said Genmab ceo Dr Lisa N. Drakeman. 'We are pleased to expand our product portfolio to include this target.'