Press Releases

Fifteen Year Data Shows TAG-72 Antigen is a Major Factor in Patient Survival

July 2011 COLUMBUS, Ohio — Enlyton, Ltd., announced the publication of a 15-year follow-up analysis of long-term cancer survival comparing the presence or absence of tumor associated glycoprotein–72 (TAG-72) in patients after undergoing antigen-directed cancer surgery for colorectal cancer. TAG-72 is a shed tumor antigen that is produced by adenocarcinoma cells and accumulates in and around cancerous tissues.

The study concluded that the absence of detectable TAG-72 antigen within the surgical field at completion of antigen-directed cancer surgery for primary colorectal cancer is of significant prognostic value, conferring a long-term survival advantage to those in whom complete surgical removal of all tissues with detectable radiolabeled anti-TAG-72 uMAb was accomplished.

Dr. Edward W. Martin Jr. (Enlyton CSO and Professor of Surgery at The Ohio State University) added, “We are excited with the conclusiveness of the data and the proof it demonstrates for continuing our development of TAG-72 based approaches for targeting cancer.”

The study, entitled, “Antigen-Directed Cancer Surgery for Primary Colorectal Cancer: 15-Year Survival Analysis” was published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology (DOI 10.1245/s10434-011-1880-3) by Povoski, Hatzaras, Mojzisik, Arnold, Hinkle, Hitchcock, Young, and Martin, authors from The Ohio State University and Enlyton, Ltd.

ViroMed and Enlyton Sign Licensing Agreement to Develop Humanized Antibody to TAG-72 for Cancer Detection

February 2011 SEOUL, KOREA  – ViroMed Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ: 084990), a leading biotechnology company, announced that the company has entered into a licensing agreement with Enlyton, Ltd., an Ohio-based company developing improved methods of molecular imaging.

The agreement grants Enlyton exclusive worldwide rights to develop 3E8, a humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb) designed to target the tumor-associated glycoprotein 72 (TAG-72) antigen, for use in cancer detection and targeted drug delivery. Under the terms of the agreement Enlyton will pay ViroMed an upfront licensing fee with milestone payments totaling $4.7 million, and additional royalty payments based on revenues.

“We are pleased to have entered into an agreement with Enlyton, an up-and-coming company in the field of cancer detection,” said Paul Kim, Vice President of Business Development at ViroMed. “As the development time of antibodies for detection is comparatively faster than that of therapeutic antibodies, we expect to be able to enter this $8 billion dollar industry much sooner. This agreement is another important step in establishing ViroMed as a leading biotech company in Asia.” Enlyton CEO Jeff Bergen added, “This agreement provides Enlyton with access to an antibody that has been shown to offer great promise for use in cancer imaging and detection.”

About 3E8 3E8 is a humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb) designed to target the tumor associated glycoprotein 72 (TAG-72) antigen. TAG-72 is highly expressed (50-90%) in various epithelial derived cancers such as colonic adenocarcinomas, invasive ductal breast carcinomas, non-small cell lung carcinomas, epithelial ovarian carcinomas, and most pancreatic, gastric, and esophageal cancers. In preclinical testing, 3E8 showed a higher affinity to TAG-72 and had a lower immune response compared with previous TAG-72-specific mAb diagnostic imaging agents.

About ViroMed

ViroMed Co., Ltd. is a leading biotechnology company located in Seoul, Korea with a US presence in Atlanta and the San Francisco Bay Area. The company has two main areas of focus: DNA/protein-based biopharmaceuticals and phytotherapeutics (botanical drugs/nutraceuticals). ViroMed now has five main products in its pipeline targeting cardiovascular disease, cancer, and immune-related disorder, with clinical trials ongoing in the US, Korea, and China. To learn more about the company and its products, visit www.viromed21.com.

New Data from Enlyton Supports Use of an Antigen-Directed, Cancer-Specific Targeting Agent for PET-Based Imaging
September 2010 COLUMBUS, Ohio  — Enlyton, Ltd., announced the publication of a cancer imaging study in which Enlyton’s antigen-directed, cancer-specific targeting agent demonstrated superior performance over the industry standard, ¹⁸F-FDG, in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging of colorectal cancer. In the study, Enlyton’s targeting agent increasingly localized in tumor, while ¹⁸F-FDG did not. ¹⁸F-FDG also exhibited the tendency to localize in normal tissues. Dr. Edward Martin Jr. (Enlyton CSO and Professor of Surgery at The Ohio State University) said, “We are excited with the results of the study and the potential it offers for successful use of our cancer-specific targeting agent in clinical trials for preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative PET-based imaging of colorectal cancer.”

The study, entitled, “¹²⁴I-HuCC49deltaC_H2 for TAG-72 antigen-directed positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of LS174T colon adenocarcinoma tumor implants in xenograft mice: preliminary results,” was published in the World Journal of Surgical Oncology (2010, 8:65) by Zou, Povoski, Hall, Carlton, Hinkle, Xu, Mojzisik, Johnson, Knopp, Martin, and Sun, authors from Enlyton, Ltd., The Ohio State University, and The University of Michigan. (View the whole article at http://wjso.com/content/8/1/65.)

Enlyton Secures Rights to Portfolio of Monoclonal Antibodies for Use in Cancer Imaging and Detection

April 2008 Columbus, Ohio – Enlyton, Ltd. has secured exclusive worldwide rights from NIH to a portfolio of monoclonal antibodies for multiple fields of use in cancer imaging and detection modalities. Humanized antibodies from this family were approved for use in human clinical trials, where they exhibited no HAMA. These antibodies, including both antecedents and progeny, exhibit high specificity for adenocarcinoma cancers. Enlyton will employ antibodies from this portfolio in cancer imaging and detection.

Enlyton and The Ohio State University Research Foundation (OSURF) Form Cooperation on Sponsored Research

March 2007 Columbus, Ohio – Enlyton, Ltd. and The Ohio State University Research Foundation (OSURF) entered into a License and Option Agreement that provides Enlyton with exclusive commercialization rights to patented technology involving the surgical detection and removal of occult cancerous tissue. The Agreement also affords Enlyton the opportunity to secure option rights to inventions resulting from separate Enlyton-initiated Sponsored Research Agreements involving developments by Ohio State employees. Terms and conditions for each such opportunity are incorporated in this Agreement.

Enlyton is integrating proprietary molecular targets into cancer-specific imaging agents for use in tumor localization and visualization as the means to improve the treatment of cancer. Enlyton will initially validate its first proprietary molecular targets for use in improving the cancer detection capability of PET and PET/CT.