MORRIS PLAINS, N.J., Nov. 9, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Immunomedics, Inc. (Nasdaq:IMMU), a biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the development of monoclonal antibody-based products for the targeted treatment of cancer, autoimmune and other serious diseases, today announced that the Company was honored by the Research & Development Council of New Jersey with their coveted Edison Patent Award, in recognition of the Company's significant achievements in the biotechnology category for its DOCK-AND-LOCK™ (DNL™) protein engineering platform technology.
The Edison award is for U.S. Patent 7,521,056, "Stably Tethered Structures of Defined Compositions with Multiple Functions of Binding Sites." DNL™ is a versatile method for the rapid and facile creation of a wide variety of active biological agents designed for biotechnological and biomedical applications. One such example is the new class of bispecific antibodies, made by DNLTM, which target two different antigens on cancer or immune cells. The Company is moving forward to bring these bispecific antibodies into clinical testing for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. (Blood. 2012 Apr 19;119(16):3767-78. Epub 2012 Jan 23.)
Another application of this technology is the anti-HIV agents we and our collaborators at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, have recently reported in the online journal PLoS. (For more information, please refer to the Company's press release at www.immunomedics.com/pdfs/news/2012/pr07242012.pdf.)
The inventors of the patent, Drs. Chien-Hsing Chang, David M. Goldenberg, William J. McBride, and Edmund A. Rossi, were honored at the Council's 50th Anniversary Celebration and 33rd Edison Patent Award Ceremony & Reception on November 8, 2012 at the Liberty Science Center, where an original film highlighted each patent and its inventors.
"This is the second year in a row that our research has been recognized by the Council," commented Cynthia L. Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Immunomedics. "DNL™ is one of our most important research and development programs and we are pleased to have received this coveted award," Ms. Sullivan further remarked.
About the Research & Development Council of New Jersey
The Research & Development Council of New Jersey is dedicated to cultivating an environment that supports the advancement of research and development throughout New Jersey. The Council is composed of senior representatives from industry, academia and government. Many R&D Council members represent today's Fortune 500 companies. More information on the Council and the Edison Patent Awards can be found at: www.rdnj.org.
About Immunomedics
Immunomedics is a New Jersey-based biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the development of monoclonal antibody-based products for the targeted treatment of cancer, autoimmune and other serious diseases. We have developed a number of advanced proprietary technologies that allow us to create humanized antibodies that can be used either alone in unlabeled or "naked" form, or conjugated with radioactive isotopes, chemotherapeutics, cytokines or toxins, in each case to create highly targeted agents. Using these technologies, we have built a pipeline of therapeutic product candidates that utilize several different mechanisms of action. We also have a majority ownership in IBC Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which is developing a novel DOCK-AND-LOCK™ (DNL™) method with us for making fusion proteins and multifunctional antibodies, and a new method of delivering imaging and therapeutic agents selectively to disease, especially different solid cancers (colorectal, lung, pancreas, etc.), by proprietary, antibody-based, pretargeting methods. We believe that our portfolio of intellectual property, which includes approximately 206 active patents in the United States and more than 400 foreign patents, protects our product candidates and technologies. For additional information on us, please visit our website at http://www.immunomedics.com/ blocked::http://www.immunomedics.com/">www.immunomedics.com. The information on our website does not, however, form a part of this press release.
This release, in addition to historical information, may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements, including statements regarding clinical trials, out-licensing arrangements (including the timing and amount of contingent payments), forecasts of future operating results, potential collaborations, and capital raising activities, involve significant risks and uncertainties and actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied herein. Factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to, risks associated with any cash payment that the Company might receive in connection with a sublicense involving a third party and UCB, which is not within the Company's control, new product development (including clinical trials outcome and regulatory requirements/actions), our dependence on our licensing partners for the further development of epratuzumab and veltuzumab for non-cancer indications, competitive risks to marketed products and availability of required financing and other sources of funds on acceptable terms, if at all, as well as the risks discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company is not under any obligation, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation, to update or alter any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.