NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Invivoscribe Technologies today said it has licensed a patent from Takara Bio for detecting internal tandem duplication mutations in the FLT3 gene.
Found in about one-third of all AML patients, FLT3-ITD mutations are an important biomarker for refractory acute myeloid leukemia, Invivoscribe said, adding that the presence of the mutation is associated with poor prognosis. Numerous drugs for patients with the mutation are currently in clinical trials worldwide, and being able to identify patients with the mutation would allow for a more targeted therapeutic regimen and potentially better outcomes.
Today's announcement builds on a 2006 patent licensing agreement between Invivoscribe and Takara that excluded Japan. The new agreement provides the San Diego-based firm several new licenses, including an exclusive license to produce and sell in vitro diagnostic products for FLT3-ITD detection in Japan. Invivoscribe also will be able to produce and sell with Takara research reagent products for FLT3-ITD in Japan, and to provide testing services for FLT3-ITD detection.
The deal marks Invivoscribe's entry into the Japanese market for FLT3 testing, and in a statement the company's founder and CEO Jeffrey Miller said it "augments our dominant intellectual property position in the FLT3 testing area, in particular for internal tandem duplication detection.
"We believe that Takara's decision to expand its relationship with Invivoscribe makes sense for everyone involved. Development and regulatory clearance of IVD products and companion diagnostics has been promoted by unifying the license rights for the Japanese market with other worldwide rights Invivoscribe had previously secured," Miller continued. "This will promote harmonized testing for this clinically important biomarker."
Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.