Thursday, October 20, 2011

MedImmune Licenses Pfizer Cancer Care Candidate

MedImmune has licensed a Pfizer CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody,tremelimumab,for exploration in a number of potential cancer treatments.Under the agreement,Pfizer will retain the rights to use tremelimumab with specified types of combination therapies while MedImmune assumes global development rights of the antibody.
The acquisition for MedImmune's oncology pipeline exemplifies MedImmune's continued commitment to embracing this new era of cancer care,according to Dr.Bahija
Jallal,PhD,Executive Vice President of Research and Development.
CTLA-4 is a protein that has an important role in regulating the immune system.There is growing interest in potential therapeutic benefits of blocking this protein with antibodies such as Pfizer's tremelimumab,as a means of inhibiting immune system tolerance of carcinogenic tumors,thus providing a potential new immunotherapy for cancer patients.
MedImmune is a division of London-based pharma titan AstraZeneca.The Gaithersburg,Maryland biotech firm has a staff of around 3500 workers worldwide.MedImmune is the inventor of the iconic FluMist vaccine,as well as pediatric respiratory therapy Synagis.
AstraZeneca(AZN),Pfizer(PFE)

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