New Products

Mylotarg®

Mylotarg®, the first FDA-approved targeted chemotherapy agent, uses monoclonal antibody technology originally arose through research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center by Dr. Irwin Bernstein. This antibody was licensed to and marketed by Wyeth-Ayerst. In 2000, the drug has been approved by the FDA to fight relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) for some patients age sixty and older.

Mylotarg is an antibody-drug conjugate that targets chemotherapy treatment to leukemia cells. Mylotarg's highly specific antibody recognizes a cell-surface molecule called CD33, which is abundant on AML cells but absent from normal blood stem cells, the seeds from which normal blood and immune cells originate. Antibody refinement and final commercial development of Mylotarg was carried out by Wyeth and Celltech Group, who linked the antibody to an extremely potent chemotherapy agent known as "calicheamicin". The antibody selectively targets leukemic blast cells and delivers calicheamicin to them. As a result, the leukemic cells are destroyed but the cells that are responsible for replenishing normal blood cells are spared.

Tysabri®

Tysabri® (Natalizumab) is a monoclonal antibody for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Originally arose through research at the Center by Dr. Elizabeth Wayner, Tysabri® uses an antibody to prevent the inflammation associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), a sometimes disabling autoimmune disease that strikes the central nervous system. Tysabri® also may prove beneficial for patients with other autoimmune diseases such lupus, Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer. The drug is being marketed by Biogen Idec Inc. and Elan Corp.

For more information, read From basic discovery to breakthrough drug.

Adeza - FullTermTM

Adeza entered a license agreement with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center under which they were granted a worldwide, exclusive license to a US patent and corresponding foreign patents related to fetal fibronectin and antibodies made against fetal fibronectin.

Adeza's principal product, FullTermTM, the Fetal Fibronectin Test is designed to objectively determine a woman's risk of preterm birth by detecting the presence of a specific protein, fetal fibronectin, in vaginal secretions during pregnancy. Fetal fibronectin is a protein expressed in the fetal membranes and placenta at the interface between the mother and fetus. Testing for the presence or absence of fetal fibronectin enables healthcare providers to identify women at risk for preterm birth, and may also be useful in predicting the successful induction of labor.

For more information, read Cancer study leads to unexpected creation of a product to help predict risk of premature childbirth.

Ubiquitous Expression in Transgenic Mice

This technology is a transgenic mouse system that permits one to express heterologous genes of interest in all mouse tissues. It also encompasses a transgenic mouse reporter system that enables one to monitor and analyze gene expression in vivo in all mouse tissues using a ubiquitously expressed gene locus and a recombinase system. This technology was developed by Philippe Soriano of the center and Elizabeth Robertson of Harvard University. Under an inter-institutional agreement with Harvard University, the center has authority to market and license this technology for the benefit of both institutions. A U.S. Patent has issued and international patent protection is being sought (US Patent 6,461,864 and PCT/US1999/008154 (WO 1999/053017)).

Several companies have licensed this technology from the center and it is used by a large number of academic researchers. The technology is available on a non-exclusive basis to companies and through material transfer agreements with academic researchers.