3F8 and 8H9 Antibodies

In December2007, we entered into two agreements with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) to exclusively license certain rights to two investigational monoclonal antibodies, 3F8 and 8H9, for the treatment of neuroblastoma and metastatic brain cancer. The monoclonal antibody 3F8 is a mouse IgG3 MAb. which is currently used in an investigational setting for the treatment of neuroblastoma, a rare cancer of the sympathetic nervous system mainly affecting children. It is the most common extracranical solid cancer in children and most common cancer in infants. More than 400 patients have been treated with the 3F8 antibody since 1986 under investigator-initiated Investigational New Drug applications (INDs). There are fewer than 1,000 new cases of neuroblastoma disgnosed each year.

The monoclonal antibody 8H9 is an IgG1 antibody that is also a mouse antibody. The 8H9 antibody is highly reactive witha range of human solid tumors, including human brain cancers. The 8H9 antibody is in early investigational development for metastases which develop in the brain from the spread of cancers from other tissues in the body. Metastatic brain cancers are ten times more common than cancers that originate in the brain, and prognosis is very poor. In the United States, more than 100,000 cases of metastatic brain cancer are diagnosed each year.