Biomerieux-Pierre Fabre licenses melanoma vaccine

Biomerieux-Pierre Fabre of France has signed a worldwide licensingagreement with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Lausanne, Switzerland, for the development of a melanoma vaccine involving a Melan-A/Mart-1-derived peptide known as ELA.

The two groups will co-develop a melanoma vaccine made up of an adjuvant protein and the melanoma-specific antigen. The deal will give Biomerieux-Pierre Fabre exclusive rights to ELA conjugated to any carrier protein targeting dendritic cells. A Phase I/II clinical trial is expected to start early next year.