Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s (RPCI) TTO has signed a licensing agreement with Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., for tumor imaging technology developed by RPCI researcher Ravindra Pandey, PhD. Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical is one of China’s largest producers of oncology drugs. Additional terms were not disclosed, but Richard Matner, PhD, MBA, director of RPCI’s TTO, recently spoke about the institute’s focus on deal-making in Asia in an interview with Technology Transfer Tactics. “We’ve found that, overall, the capacity for risk tolerance is higher in Asia than in the U.S. or Europe,” Matner said. “Assets or free capital move projects forward, and there’s a higher level in China and India. Right now China’s got $2 trillion in the bank and a straightforward mission from the Premier to bring various therapies into China. We’ve been a little ahead of the curve in that we’ve been negotiating in Asia for some time.”
The RPCI tumor imaging technology also shows potential as an anti-cancer treatment agent, according to Hua Bai, president and CEO of Zhejiang Hisun. “We believe a drug with these properties would be extremely valuable for patients in China,” he says. “It may play a significant role in improving treatment options for people with cancer and will greatly enrich Zhejiang Hisun’s growing oncology drug pipeline.”
Source: Newswise