Hemosol Inc has made an agreement with Baxter Biotech, a subsidiary of Baxter Healthcare Corporation, to purchase worldwide patents and intellectual property related to drug delivery technology. The agreement will allow Hemosol to continue to pursue the development of this technology, either by itself or in partnership, and further extends and broadens the patent position in this field.

According to the terms of the agreement, Hemosol will make cash payments to Baxter on a progressive basis, along with a 4 percent royalty on commercial sales of the products arising from the development program.

"The principles behind haemoglobin drug delivery are similar to those that form the basis for the current therapeutic monoclonal antibody products currently used in the treatment and diagnosis of certain cancers," said Dr. David Bell, vice president of Scientific Affairs at Hemosol. "Our success to date in basic research, has led us to be encouraged by this avenue of discovery and we are enthusiastic regarding the implications of hemoglobin based drug delivery products. This agreement broadens our range of intellectual property protection and encourages further development of this important pipeline technology."

Hemosol has developed technology that can link specific kinds of drugs to haemoglobin. This technology effectively links anti-viral and anti-cancer drugs to purified haemoglobin, the starting material for Hemolink. The created haemoglobin-drug complex is then transported to the liver through the natural pathway for haemoglobin uptake and clearance from the blood plasma. This could allow for targeted delivery of anti-viral drugs to the liver in the case of patients suffering from Hepatitis C, and anti-cancer drugs in the case of patients with cancers of the liver. It is expected that at least two drug delivery compounds will move into preclinical development in the coming months.

"The market potential for targeted therapeutics is large and growing quickly," commented Lee Ann Malcolm, vice president of marketing at Hemosol. "We look forward to developing this technology and realising the inherent value in targeted therapeutic products."