Samaritan licenses US PBR patent

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA-based Samaritan Pharmaceuticals has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Washington's Georgetown University for a patent covering the Peripheral Benzodiazepine Receptor which has led to cancer drug candidates with the ability to inhibit cancerous tumors.

Samaritan also licensed an imaging technique that could possibly distinguish cancerous tumors for a more targeted and improved chemotherapy.

The patent, entitled Etoposide Conjugates with PBR Ligands, describes PBR as a high-affinity drug and cholesterol-binding protein that has become an attractive target for cancer therapies and cancer imaging. Over-expression of PBR has been observed in a variety of cancers, including brain, breast, colorectal and prostate cancers, the firm noted.