Japanese Financial Boost For Cangene

A licensing deal between Japan's Toyobo Co and the Netherlands firm Organon Teknika, which is a partner of Canada's Cangene Corp, has resulted in a substantial financial injection for the latter. The agreement means that Toyobo has acquired the right to market Cangene's NASBA diagnostic technology.

Terms of the deal are not disclosed, but the Ontario, Canada-based Financial Post suggests that Cangene "expects to receive a seven-figure sum in two payments and a royalty on sales." It quotes Cangene spokeswoman Jean Compton as saying that the deal will give the biotechnology company "enough cash to survive at least until the summer of 1996." The deal follows a May 1 announcement that Cangene received a US patent on its NASBA technology, which detects disease by targeting genetic information. A potential $135 million US market is envisaged for the technology.