Areva Med acquires Macrocyclics

October 20, 2011 - AREVA announced that its nuclear medicine subsidiary, AREVA Med, has acquired Macrocyclics, Inc.

AREVA Med has developed innovative methods for producing lead-212 (212Pb), a rare radioactive isotope at the heart of promising research projects in nuclear medicine to develop new treatments against cancer.

Macrocyclics, based in Dallas, Texas, is the world leader in the production of chelators, chemical agents that allow for the attachment of antibodies or proteins with radioactive isotopes for the development of powerful nuclear medical treat-ments targeted against aggressive types of cancer.

“This strategic acquisition allows us to be in a unique position in the global marketplace. As a result, we can now offer new technology for attaching our isotope to antibodies targeting cancerous cells,” said Patrick Bourdet, President and CEO of AREVA Med. “The experience and the outstanding know-how of the Macrocyclics team, together with that of AREVA Med, will allow us to target more diseases and accelerate the development of radioimmunotherapy treatments using AREVA’s lead-212,” added Bourdet.

“The acquisition of our company by AREVA Med comes at an ideal time when the therapeutic power of lead-212 has been proven. By bringing our expertise with chelators to the unique competencies of AREVA Med, we will develop new powerful and targeted treatments for patients. With AREVA Med’s support, we will be able to offer an even broader range of services to our clients,” added Garry Kiefer, CEO of Macrocyclics.

In January 2011, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) gave AREVA Med authorization to begin clinical trials for a new medicine using lead-212 to combat particularly aggressive types of cancer.

The development of new treatments in nuclear medicine is limited by the avail-ability of isotopes. AREVA is building a new facility, the Maurice Tubiana Laboratory, to produce large-scale quantities of medical-grade lead-212 in the Limousin region of France... AREVA's Press Release - communiqué de presse AREVA -

Exonhit : Research Agreement With Pfizer to Identify Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarkers

October 10, 2011 - Exonhit (Paris:ALEHT) announced that it has entered into a research agreement with Pfizer Inc. for the identification of new Alzheimer’s disease (AD) biomarkers using Exonhit’s Genome-Wide SpliceArray™ (GWSA) platform.

As part of the agreement, the two companies will jointly conduct a pilot study using Exonhit’s GWSA platform to gain insight on AD molecular markers associated with clinical parameters. More specifically, the purpose of the research work is to seek to identify progression and other biomarkers that could segregate healthy elderly controls, patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and patients with AD. Test samples for the study will be provided by Pfizer from a number of subjects in each of these three groups over a period of time.

“Today’s announcement further demonstrates the interest in the potential of our GWSA discovery platform,” said Loïc Maurel M.D., President of Exonhit’s Management Board. “We are excited to collaborate with Pfizer and we hope that this study will identify new Alzheimer’s biomarkers and hence lead to the potential development of prognostic tests for patients”...

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...About Exonhit Exonhit (Alternext: ALEHT) is a biotech company, focused on personalized medicine, which develops targeted innovative therapeutic and diagnostic products, in oncology and Alzheimer’s disease. Exonhit has a balanced development strategy with internal development programs and strategic collaborations, in particular with Allergan. Exonhit is headquartered in Paris, France and has a U.S. subsidiary in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The Company is listed on NYSE Alternext in Paris and is part of the NYSE Alternext OSEO innovation index... [PDF] Exonhit's Press Release - PDF du communiqué de presse Exonhit -

TFChem Merges with Canadian-based Sirona Biochem

March 31, 2011 - TFChem and Canadian-based Sirona Biochem completed their merger on March 31, 2011. An official signing took place in Paris, France. – Sirona Biochem Corp. (TSX-V: SBM) (the “Company”), a biotechnology company specializing in therapeutics for diabetes and obesity, announced that it has completed its acquisition of TFChem S.A.S. An official signing took place in Paris, France.

“Carbohydrate-based molecules have tremendous potential as therapeutics and for other commercial applications, such as cosmetics, and this acquisition of TFChem gives Sirona Biochem the opportunity to earn revenue earlier by expanding into these exciting new commercial markets,” said Sirona Biochem’s President Mark Senner. “We feel the addition of TFChem’s expertise and portfolio leverages our therapeutics program and widely expands our partnering opportunities,” he added.

“TFChem has a strong proprietary chemistry method we feel improves the stability, bioavailability, selectivity and efficacy of carbohydrate-based drugs, which are typically very difficult to stabilize,” said Sirona Biochem’s Vice-President, Research & Development, Dr. Bertrand Plouvier. “TFChem’s award-winning chemistry is showing promise in overcoming these stabilization challenges.”

“We chose to partner with Sirona Biochem because we feel their development expertise and strong business model are a perfect match to successfully maximize the commercial value of our programs,” said Dr. Géraldine Deliencourt-Godefroy, Chief Scientic Officer and founder of TFChem...

[...] ...About TFChem

TFChem is a drug-discovery company using fluorine atom properties to develop new glycomimetic compounds. Based in Val de Reuil, France, TFChem aims at becoming a major developer of carbohydrate-based drugs... TFChem's Press Release - Communiqué de Presse TFChem - Sirona Biochem's Press Release -