Genmab A/S and privately held Ganymed Pharmaceuticals AG located in Germany, announced that Genmab will license Ganymed's GT43 cancer target. The target is expressed on a wide range of tumours, including melanoma, breast cancer, lung cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma.

The GT43 target is expressed on the cell membrane of cancer cells but not on normal tissues of any essential organ and has demonstrated a role in cell signaling. In particular, it is upstream in a signaling pathway involved in cell survival. Laboratory studies have shown that the inhibition of the target resulted in a markedly decreased cell migration. It was also demonstrated that expression of GT43 is strongly correlated with metastasis in patients with breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ganymed will be entitled to license fees, milestones and royalties on the sale of successfully commercialized products.

"Ganymed's skill in identifying and validating disease targets has led to the discovery of GT43, a target expressed in a wide variety of cancer cells," said Lisa N. Drakeman, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Genmab. "We are pleased to expand our product portfolio to include this target."

"Genmab is well known for its excellence in developing antibody based therapies," said Rainer Wessel, Ph.D., president & chief executive officer of Ganymed. "We are very pleased that we have a first class partner for our GT43 target."