Antyra gets rights to Novo cancer agents

New Jersey, USA-based Antyra has entered into a global licensing agreement with Denmark's Novo Nordisk for IGF-related antagonists for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Under the accord, the US firm will obtain exclusive rights to develop and commercialize certain IGF antagonists discovered during the research and license collaboration agreement entered into between the companies in December 2001.

IGF is a natural growth-promoting entity, the blockage of whose action has attracted attention as a potential anticancer therapy for the treatment of many solid tumors. An increasing body of epidemiologic data links elevated serum IGF levels with the risk of a number of different cancers including pancreatic, prostate, colorectal, breast and lung. While the actions of IGF are complex, it is becoming clear that this system may mediate the effect of a number of well-established cancer risk factors.