June 2006
US National Academy Honors for LICR’s Thierry Boon and Don Cleveland
Thierry Boon
Don Cleveland
We are proud to announce that Dr. Thierry Boon, Director of the Brussels Branch, has been elected as a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences USA, and Dr. Don Cleveland, LICR Member at the San Diego Branch, has been elected as a Member of the National Academy of Sciences USA and a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, USA. These elections bring the number of LICR staff in the National Academy to five; the others are Dr. Webster K. Cavenee (Director, San Diego Branch), Dr. Richard D. Kolodner (LICR Executive-Director for Laboratory Sciences and Technology and Member, San Diego Branch) and Dr. Lloyd Old (Director, New York Branch).
There was an awards bonanza for LICR staff this quarter. See ‘LICR News’ for awards to Drs. Werner Held (Lausanne Branch), Serhiy Souchelnytskyi (Uppsala Branch), Karen Oegema (San Diego Branch), Ken Pang (Melbourne Centre) and Richard Kolodner (LICR’s Executive Director for Laboratory Science & Technology, and San Diego Branch).
Jean-Charles Cerottini M.D. to Retire as Lausanne Branch Director
Dr. Cerottini, the founding Director of the Lausanne Branch, and one of the longest-serving LICR staff will leave LICR on August 31, 2006, to take up the position of Mayor of the Swiss town, Saint-Sulpice. Dr. H. Robson (Rob) MacDonald will be Acting Director of the Lausanne Branch until a new Branch Director is selected. Read a summary of Dr. Cerotinni’s career and a tribute to Dr. Cerottini from Dr. Douglas T. Fearon, LICR Scientific Advisory Committee, here.
Introducing the ‘LICR Melbourne Centre for Clinical Sciences’
The ‘LICR Melbourne Centre for Clinical Sciences’ has been created by the administrative separation of the Melbourne Branch’s ‘Austin Campus’ (located at the Austin Health hospital in Heidelberg) and the ‘Parkville Campus’ (located at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Parkville). Andrew M. Scott M.D., the former Associate Director (Clinical) of the Melbourne Branch is the Director of the Centre. Read more about the Centre here.
TGF Beta Meeting Report
In December 2005, the Scientific Directorate announced that further resources would be made available to develop and validate specific TGF-β antagonists and explore their possible clinical utility. Six months later, ‘Team TGF-β,’ including investigators from the Uppsala, Brussels and Melbourne Branches, the New York Office and several LICR Affiliates, met to discuss their findings. A report of the TGF Beta meeting can be read here.
Branch Changes: Lausanne, London, São Paulo and Stockholm
Branch Director positions in Lausanne, São Paulo and Stockholm are currently, or will soon be, vacant. Consistent with the Scientific Directorate’s policy to reassess Branch sites as Branch Directors change, alternate sites for the UCL, Lausanne and São Paulo Branches are being assessed. Plans are for the Stockholm Branch to remain at the Karolinska Institute. Read more about the changes here.
Another Spin-Off Company Launches From Angiogenesis Program Research
A third LICR spin-off company has been formed, the second from research conducted as part of the Institute-wide Angiogenics Program. LICR, Licentia (University of Helsinki) and Circadian Technologies Ltd, a Melbourne-based company have formed Vegenics Ltd to explore the therapeutic potential of LICR/Licentia intellectual property in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C, VEGF-D and VEGF receptor-3. Details can be found on the LICR press release here.
“…the fact that a local life sciences company (Circadian) had been able to sign a deal with an organization as respected as the Ludwig Institute [is] a sign that the Australian biotechnology sector [is] maturing.” Comment by Australian biotechnology analyst on the formation of Vegenics Ltd, The Age newspaper (State of Victoria), May 1, 2006.
“[Our] take on yesterday’s tie-up is that it’s great to do a deal on 50:50 terms with the esteemed Ludwig Institute….” The Australian newspaper (national), May 2, 2006.
Ralf Pettersson, M.D.,Ph.D. to Resign as Stockholm Branch Director
Dr. Ralf Pettersson the founding Director of the Stockholm Branch has announced that he will resign as Branch Director on August 31, 2006. Dr. Pettersson has graciously decided to step aside to allow the early appointment of a new Branch Director who will work with the Scientific Directorate to plan the next installment of LICR’s activities in Stockholm. Dr. Pettersson intends to focus on his research as leader of the Cell Biology Group in the Branch and will continue to act as a valued mentor for the staff. Dr. Thomas Perlmann will be Acting Director of the Stockholm Branch until such time as a new Branch Director has been selected.
Nature’s 24 Milestones in Cancer: LICR Investigators Pivotal in Five of 24
The Nature Publishing Group has given its opinion on the ‘24 Milestones in Cancer Research’ since the end of the nineteenth century. ‘Original Research Papers’ authored by LICR investigators feature in five of the 24 Milestones, with another two quoting papers authored by LICR investigators as selected ‘Further Reading.’ That’s about 30% of cancer research milestones with significant contributions from LICR investigators according to the editors of Nature, Nature Medicine and Nature Reviews Cancer. Find out who and read brief descriptions of their milestone contributions here.
EGFR Cascade Meeting Report
LICR has a number of groups working on EGFR and related research areas, and as such, there appeared to be potential for collaborating together to share findings and ideas and explore new collaborations and opportunities. A meeting of some 30 people from the Melbourne, New York, San Diego and New York Branches, the New York Office and several LICR Affiliates was held in San Diego (USA) to share research interests and findings, and to assess the potential for forming collaborations based around those interests. Read a report of the EGFR Cascade meeting here.
GlaxoSmithKline/LICR License & Collaboration Results
LICR and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical company, have announced the signing of an agreement whereby GSK has licensed a substantial portfolio of tumor-specific antigens from LICR (Read the press release here). This licensing agreement follows a long-standing collaboration between both parties - specifically with the team led by Dr. Thierry Boon (Director, Brussels Branch) - on GSK’s investigational MAGE-A3 Antigen Specific Cancer Immunotherapeutic (ASCI) in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC).
GSK announced both the agreement and the results of a pivotal phase II trial of the MAGE-A3 ASCI at the 2006 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in June. LICR scientists and clinical investigators are expected to be involved in the continued design and interpretation of research results as the clinical development of the ASCI proceeds.
“We are very pleased to announce this agreement with the LICR the very same day the promising data from GSK’s MAGE-A3 ASCI were presented. With the licensing of this impressive portfolio of cancer antigens, we endorse our collaboration with the Ludwig Institute and reaffirm our commitment to using our experience in immunology to develop innovative immunotherapies against a wide variety of oncology conditions.” Jean Stéphenne, President of GSK Biologicals.
LICR News
LICR News
Congratulations to:
The Uppsala Branch, celebrated its 20th Anniversary with a symposium of Branch alumni on May 12.
Dr. Werner Held (Lausanne Branch) was awarded the 'Prix Leenaards 2006 pour la promotion de la recherche scientifique' from the Leenards Foundation - with Drs. Joerg Huelsken (ISREC) and Yves Chandalon (University Hospital of Geneva) - for research into cell signaling disruption during the development of leukemia. Dr. Held has also recently been appointed to the rank of Associate Professor at the University of Lausanne.
Dr. Serhiy Souchelnytskyi (Uppsala Branch) was awarded a High Cancer Research Position - a six year personal research position - from the Swedish Cancer Society. The Position is extremely competitive, with only two or three granted to senior level investigators per year in Sweden.
Dr. Ken Pang (Melbourne Centre) received a “High Commendation” in the 2006 Premier’s (State Government of Victoria) Awards for Medical Research.
Dr. Arshad Desai (San Diego Branch) was profiled in the American Society for Cell Biology’s April newsletter [PDF].
Dr. Karen Oegema (San Diego Branch) was named the ‘2006 Woman in Cell Biology Junior Awardee’ by the American Society for Cell Biology.
Dr. Richard D. Kolodner (LICR’s Executive Director for Laboratory Science & Technology, and San Diego Branch) received the ‘2005 Annual Faculty Award for Excellence in Research’ from the Vice-Chancellor of the University California, San Diego School of Medicine (the Branch’s host institution).
In June, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Advisory Panel approved Merck & Co.’s cervical cancer vaccine, GardasilTM. The approval was predicated on immunogenicity data conducted largely by a team led by Dr. Luisa L. Villa, Acting Director of LICR’s Sao Paulo Branch. Dr. Villa was also the lead author of the first study reporting Gardasil’s efficacy in 2005.
Nature Journals - UCL Branch continues its run:
From the laboratory of Dr. Bart Vanhaesebroeck (UCL Branch)
Foukas LC, Claret M, Pearce W, Okkenhaug K, Meek S, Peskett E, Sancho S, Smith AJ, Withers DJ, Vanhaesebroeck B. Critical role for the p110alpha phosphoinositide-3-OH kinase in growth and metabolic regulation. Nature. 2006 Apr 12.
LICR in the News
The formation of Vegenics Ltd (see accompanying NewsLink story) got column inches in The Age (Victoria state newspaper), The Australian (national newspaper) and on various business and biotechnology websites.
The GSK/LICR agreement (see accompanying NewsLink story) was covered in science business press and various business and biotechnology websites internationally.
A paper co-authored by Drs. Lloyd Old (Director, New York Branch) and Andrew Simpson (Executive Director for Operations & Programs) received international press coverage. A New York Times article about the study quoted Dr. Old.
Hicks AM, Riedlinger G, Willingham MC, Alexander-Miller MA, Von Kap-Herr C, Pettenati MJ, Sanders AM, Weir HM, Du W, Kim J, Simpson AJ, Old LJ, Cui Z. Transferable anticancer innate immunity in spontaneous regression/complete resistance mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 May 8; PMID: 16682640
A paper from the laboratory of Drs. Sacha Gnjatic and Lloyd Old (New York Branch) stimulated interest from several media outlets in the USA and the UK. The study described the use of Salmonella to deliver the NY-ESO-1 cancer antigen in cancer vaccine preclinical work.
Nishikawa H, Sato E, Briones G, Chen LM, Matsuo M, Nagata Y, Ritter G, Jager E, Nomura H, Kondo S, Tawara I, Kato T, Shiku H, Old LJ, Galan JE, Gnjatic S. In vivo antigen delivery by a Salmonella typhimurium type III secretion system for therapeutic cancer vaccines. J.Clin.Invest. 2006 Jun 22.
In Brief
Strategic Plan: Six Month Progress Report
June 30 represents the six month mark of the ‘LICR’s Strategic Assessment and Plan 2006-2010.’ Several of the major reorganizations have been initiated as part of the Scientific Directorate’s five-year plan as evidenced by the following changes reported in this issue of NewsLink:
- The formalization of Programs and a Program budget has allowed the Scientific
Directorate to address the number one request from staff; science-oriented
meetings between investigators from different LICR Branches.
EGFR Cascade Meeting Report
TGF beta Meeting Report - Creation of ‘LICR Melbourne Centre for Clinical Sciences’ and restructure
of the Biological Production Facility in Melbourne to provide a site for centrally-managed
translational research and more effective clinical evaluation of LICR discoveries
and to reduce LICR expenditure.
Introducing the ‘LICR Melbourne Centre for Clinical Sciences’ - Re-evaluation and prioritization of LICR’s Intellectual Property portfolio
has resulted in the formation of new spin-off companies and several licensing
deals that present exciting new opportunities for the development of our discoveries
into therapies/diagnostics that benefit patients. These initiatives will also
generate new revenue for the Institute as well as reduce spending on patent
maintenance and prosecution costs. The September NewsLink will discuss these
in more detail.
Another Spin-Off Company Launches From Angiogenesis Program Research [LICR Press Release]
LICR Announces Cancer Antigen License Deal with GSK [LICR Press Release] - The period of 2006-10 sees a number of Branch Directors reaching retirement.
As a change in Branch Director occurs, the Scientific Directorate is assessing
whether the existing host site remains best suited to meet the future needs
of the Branch and the Institute. Branches with alternate locations currently
being assessed or negotiated are Lausanne, London University College and São
Paulo.
Branch Changes: Lausanne, London, São Paulo and Stockholm
Changes to Board of Directors
Messrs Georges-André Cuendet (left) and R. Palmer Baker Jr. retired from the LICR Board of Directors on June 30, 2006. On behalf of the LICR staff we thank them for their diligence and dedication and wish them the very best for their future endeavors.
PIramed named on FierceBiotech’s Annual ‘Fierce 15 List’
This distinction honors PIramed as one of the top 15 emerging biotech companies for 2006. According to the PIramed press release [PDF]FierceBiotech, an internationally recognized email newsletter covering the biotechnology and pharmaceutical markets, evaluated numerous privately-held firms based on company vision, revenue potential, quality of deals, strength of technology, partnerships, and competitive market position. "PIramed scored early with a licensing deal for its PI 3-kinase program," said John Carroll, editor of FierceBioTech. "It should be fascinating to see how their work progresses in other disease areas." PIramed licensed IP relating to PI3K targets and screening from LICR.