Brazil's First Oncology Biotech Launches

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Clinical Trials / Drug Trials
Article Date: 19 Jun 2007 - 8:00 PDT

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Recepta, Brazil's first oncology biotechnology company has been launched by PR&D, a Brazilian venture capital company, and the international non-profit Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR). The company will explore the therapeutic potential of three antibodies discovered and characterized by LICR.

One of the antibodies in Recepta's portfolio is expected to enter clinical trials this year. Internal review board permission has been granted by São Paulo's Oswaldo Cruz German Hospital (HAOC), one of the centers of clinical excellence in Brazil, to conduct a clinical trial assessing the antibody's efficacy for patients with resected ovarian cancer. This will be the first phase II oncology clinical trial sponsored by a Brazilian company. Recepta will conduct preclinical work with investigators at the São Paulo Branch of LICR, which is based at HAOC.

According to the director of Recepta, Dr. José Fernando Perez, the company has benefited greatly from the international collaborations and support provided by LICR. "It's important to appreciate that the Ludwig Institute is more than simply a share-holder in Recepta. This is a partnership that involves Ludwig Institute investigators from around the world contributing their knowledge and expertise to assist Recepta's development efforts." Dr. Perez, who is the former director of FAPESP (State of Sao Paulo funding body), says that the partnership between LICR and PR&D evolved from an institutional partnership formed by LICR and FAPESP in the 1990's. That partnership created the internationally acclaimed ONSA (Organization for Nucleotide Sequencing and Analysis) and Human Cancer Genome Project (HCGP), state- and nation-wide sequencing programs, respectively, that brought Brazilian genomics to the world's attention.

LICR's senior scientific officer, Dr. Andrew Simpson, who was a key player in ONSA and HCGP, says that the development of Recepta re-emphasizes the Institute's belief in Brazilian research. "Recepta will be able to tap into a country that is one of the most promising for the development of new cancer therapies. There are tremendous clinical research opportunities in Brazil. You have a country with many very talented laboratory and clinical researchers, there's a large population to draw patients from, and we know we can have great confidence in their clinical practices with respect to the highest standards of ethical patient care."

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Contact: Sarah L. White
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research

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