MEDICAL THERAPIES SIGNS AGREEMENT FOR THE ACQUISITION OF...

MEDICAL THERAPIES SIGNS AGREEMENT FOR THE ACQUISITION OF PLATFORM
TECHNOLOGY
16 April 2008, Sydney, Australia: Medical Therapies Limited (ASX: MTY),
announced today that it has entered into an Intellectual Property Agreement
with Cell Signals Inc, covering the acquisition of a large portfolio of assets relating
to the use of midkine in therapeutic and diagnostic applications.
The intellectual property acquired by Medical Therapies includes 28 patents and
patent applications for the diagnosis and treatment of tumors, inflammatory
disorders and auto-immune diseases as well as a portfolio of over 120 antimidkine
antibodies.
Consideration for the acquisition involves the issuing of 20 million Medical
Therapies shares and $1.5 million cash on settlement to Cell Signals. The
transaction is subject to shareholders’ approval.
Commenting on the announcement Medical Therapies CEO, Maria Halasz said:
“This acquisition adds immediate and significant value to Medical Therapies’
asset portfolio.”
“The transaction also provides the opportunity to generate early revenues
through license fees and royalties based on the number of existing
collaborations.”
Midkine is a small molecular weight protein which belongs to the cytokine family
of growth factor-like compounds.
“Midkine is expressed strongly during tumor growth and inflammation. As a
consequence it is an ideal target for the treatment and diagnosis of a large
number of cancers and inflammatory conditions,” said Chief Scientific Officer Dr
Stephanie Williams.
Midkine was discovered by Emeritus Professor, and Cell Signals non-executive
director, Dr Takashi Muramatsu and Professor Kenji Kadomatsu at Nagoya
University in 1988. Studies relating to its importance and applications in a number
of cell pathways have since been conducted worldwide. Cell Signals is the
owner of the intellectual property portfolio in relation to its therapeutic and
diagnostic applications.
Commenting on the announcement Cell Signals CEO, Dr Sadatoshi Sakuma said,
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with the Medical Therapies
team to maximise the commercial potential of our vast midkine intellectual
property.”
MIDKINE ASSETS
Midkine has been researched extensively since its discovery in 1988. A large body
of evidence has been accumulated by Cell Signals in relation to its use for the
diagnosis and treatment of various tumors as well as inflammatory and
autoimmune diseases. Some of the key applications of the midkine technology
portfolio are listed below. For these and additional indications a detailed
commercialisation plan will be developed by a joint Cell Signals/Medical
Therapies team. This will occur within 60 days of the settlement of the transaction.
THERAPEUTICS
Midkine for the treatment of myocardial infarct (acute and chronic)
In the USA alone 1.5 million people suffer from acute myocardial infarct annually.
There is a significant unmet medical need for treating the muscle damage that
occurs as a result of a myocardial infarct, making midkine potentially a first-inclass
agent and breakthrough therapeutic approach. Midkine has been tested in
animal models for both the prevention and treatment of heart damage, in
particular left ventricular fibrosis.
Anti-midkine antibodies for cancer and auto-immune diseases
The asset portfolio includes more than 120 anti-midkine antibodies which will be
further developed targeting the treatment of solid tumors, anti-inflammatory
conditions and autoimmune diseases.
Widely believed to be an autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis affects an
estimated one million people around the world. Some anti-midkine antibodies
showed positive results in preventing the disease in animal models. Inhibition of
midkine using antibodies may provide an effective therapeutic strategy against
other autoimmune diseases as well as multiple sclerosis.
Reduced midkine expression decreases proliferative activity of cancer cell lines.
In colorectal cancer midkine expression was knocked out by the proprietary
antisense nucleotides which resulted in reduced growth of CMT-93 rectal
carcinoma cells. In prostate cancer midkine expression was knocked out by siRNA
which resulted in reduced proliferation of PC-3 prostate cancer cells. Using antimidkine
antibodies in animal models of cancers have also shown promising
results.
DIAGNOSTICS
Early detection of cancer
ELISA based midkine diagnostic tests have been successfully developed for the
non-invasive early detection of a number of cancers. This is particularly important
as early detection often means improved prognosis for patients. These tests are
currently sold to the research market in Japan and collaborations will be pursued
for extending the technology and commercialising it globally.
Neuroblastoma screening for children
Up to 80% of children are currently tested for neuroblastoma during routine health
checks at age six months. Existing markers make it difficult to predict whether the
condition is malignant or benign. Midkine levels appear to correlate positively
with the presence of early stage malignant neuroblastoma and therefore could
become a standard screening method.
TERMS OF THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AGREEMENT
On the settlement date Cell Signals will transfer all of its rights to its midkine related
intellectual property (Transfer IP). This will include patents, trademarks,
manufacturing information and technical know-how. In addition, Cell Signals will
hand over all midkine and reagent stocks to Medical Therapies.
In return Medical Therapies will, subject to the approval by a general meeting of
shareholders, issue 20 million shares to Cell Signals or its nominees on the
settlement date in addition to the payment of $1.5M in cash. The payment of
cash and the issuing of the shares will be the entire consideration for the Transfer
IP.
The Intellectual Property Agreement also provides for the establishment of a
Transition Committee for the development of a business and commercialisation
plan.
About Medical Therapies Limited (ASX: MTY):
Medical Therapies Limited is an Australian pharmaceutical development company
committed to the commercialisation of its drug candidates for anti-inflammatory
indications including colitis, inflammatory bowel syndrome, prostatitis and a range of
other acute inflammatory conditions. The Company’s patent-protected technologies
originate from The University of Sydney and include a number of metal complexes of
anti-inflammatory drugs showing increased safety and reduced toxicity in pre-clinical
trials.
About Cell Signals Inc,
Cell Signals is a private biotechnology company based in Yokohama, Japan. The
company has developed and owns a large number of patents and patent
applications relating to diagnostic and therapeutic applications for midkine, as well
as anti-midkine antibodies.

Just get the opes related selling out of the way and i feel this may soon trade in the right direction......