Alliance In $80-$90 Million Deal Over Oxygent

Alliance has entered into an agreement with the R W Johnson Research Institute and Ortho Biotech regarding Alliance's blood substitute Oxygent (perflubon). Alliance and R W Johnson will codevelop the substitute while Ortho Biotech will market it on a worldwide basis.

The collaboration will focus initially on developing Oxygent for surgical applications and to reduce the need for donor blood transfusions. The compound is in Phase II testing in the USA and Europe for this indication, and is also in Phase I testing as an adjunct to radio- and/or chemotherapy in cancer patients.

The licensing agreement covers all the injectable oxygen-carrying perfluorochemical emulsions being developed by Alliance for therapeutic use, and so also covers Imagent LN and Imagent BP. These two emulsions are being studied in the first instance for imaging purposes but may also have therapeutic utilities. Imagent LN is in Phase II trials for enhancement of cancerous lymph nodes during computed tomography scans and Imagent BP is in Phase II testing for imaging metastatic involvement of the liver and spleen using ultrasound and CT scans.