Morphotek, Inc, a subsidiary of Eisai Corporation of North America, and Pivotal BioSciences, Inc, a privately held Los Angeles-based biotechnology company developing oncology products, have entered into an agreement in which Morphotek will access Pivotal BioSciences' LEC platform technology, developed by Dr Alan Epstein, for the development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. The technology enhances the human immune system's ability to produce an effective anti-tumour response.

The agreement with Pivotal BioSciences provides that Morphotek will evaluate the LEC technology in-house and have the right to exercise an option for a license. Should Morphotek choose to exercise its option, Morphotek would obtain a worldwide license under Pivotal's LEC technology to develop new therapeutic products, and would retain the responsibility for the commercialization of such products derived using the technology.

"We are delighted to be working with Pivotal BioSciences in this effort," said Nicholas Nicolaides, president and CEO of Morphotek. "This collaboration further illustrates our commitment to discover, develop and commercialize efficacious monoclonal antibodies to address unmet diseases. We are extremely honoured to be Pivotal BioSciences' first partner for the research and development of therapeutic antibodies."

"We are very pleased that Morphotek views the LEC platform as a potentially robust technology," said Dimitri Villard, president and CEO of Pivotal BioSciences. "We believe this agreement will provide yet another validation of our proprietary approach. We anticipate a highly productive collaboration with Morphotek, one that will help Morphotek to significantly broaden its antibody pipeline."

Pivotal BioSciences is a privately-held spin-out of the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine that is focused on developing novel therapeutics for cancer.

Morphotek, a subsidiary of Eisai Corporation of North America, is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of protein and antibody products through the use of a novel and proprietary gene evolution technology.

Eisai Corporation of North America is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eisai Co, Ltd, a research-based human health care (hhc) company that discovers, develops and markets products throughout the world.