SRI International and Pentax Corporation Develop Biomarkers for Oncology Diagnostics
MENLO PARK, Calif. – September 12, 2007 – SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, today announced a personalized medicine program to develop biomarkers for cancer. The SRI program is part of a multi-year collaboration with Pentax Corporation, a developer of optical electronic products and medical instruments. The ultimate goal is to develop medical diagnostic tools for therapeutic intervention in the treatment of cancer.
"As indicators of specific disease states, biomarkers offer the potential of early detection and treatment of serious medical conditions," said Nathan Collins, Ph.D., executive director of drug discovery in SRI's Biosciences Division. "Biomarkers are new tools being used to accelerate drug development and guide therapy, and we believe that this important research initiative will accelerate early detection of certain cancers and selection of personalized treatment options in the clinical setting."
The multi-year, multi-million-dollar collaboration provides research funding and research and development milestone payments from Pentax to SRI, as well as royalties on sales of products that may result.
"This collaboration with SRI, a research institute with a significant presence in cancer drug discovery, strengthens Pentax's position in the life sciences arena," said Akira Yamamoto, research head at the Pentax Incubation Center and program director for the Pentax- SRI collaboration. "Pentax and SRI are jointly addressing new opportunities in personalized medicine by developing diagnostic tools to assist in rapid and accurate selection of therapeutic options for treatment on an individual patient basis."
A collaboration team has been formed between the Pentax Incubation Center and SRI International. In addition, Pentax is working at SRI in Menlo Park, Calif. as part of SRI's International Fellowship Program.
SRI has more than 50 years of experience in cancer drug discovery and development and has a strong pipeline of anticancer drugs ranging from early stage discovery programs to partnered drugs in the clinic and on the market. SRI has been an early proponent of incorporating biomarkers in its discovery programs to speed the clinical development of drug candidates. SRI is also a co-founding member of the Critical Path Institute in Tucson, Ariz., which was formed to address the long timeline and spiraling costs in clinical drug development.
About Pentax
Pentax Corporation (TSE: 7750) is an innovative leader in the production of endoscopes, digital cameras, lenses, lens units for digital cameras, and optical lenses for use in DVDs. For more than 80 years, Pentax's industry-leading technologies and products, backed by the company's unrivaled passion for creativity, have helped to preserve precious moments in life. For more information, please visit http://www.pentax.com.
The Pentax Incubation Center has been dedicated to developing future technologies for medical devices and biomaterials since 2001. The life-care division of Pentax is one of the major parts of Pentax’s business, focusing on endoscopes and surgical devices, hydroxyapatite-based new ceramics products, ceramic bone grafts and separation media for therapeutic proteins. The mission of the Pentax Incubation Center is to develop core technologies for future Pentax medical products.
About SRI's Biosciences Division
SRI International's Biosciences Division is an organization of approximately 200 people with all of the resources necessary to take biological and chemical research programs from "idea to IND"â„¢ -- from initial discovery to investigational new drug applications to start human clinical trials. SRI Biosciences conducts basic research like a university, performs drug discovery and develops biologics like a biotechnology company, and is a contract research organization (CRO) that offers a full range of preclinical development and pharmaceutical sciences services. SRI Biosciences specializes in cancer, immunology and inflammation, infectious disease and neurosciences research.
To date, SRI has developed nine drugs internally that have entered clinical trials, with several more currently undergoing preclinical evaluation. Marketed examples of these drugs include Targretin® (bexarotene) and Halfan® (halofantrine). Additionally, working with government and industry partners, SRI has helped advance about 150 drugs into clinical trials, and more than 10 drugs onto the market. Through collaborations with other divisions at SRI, Biosciences is also working at the interfaces of science to create technical platforms for the next generation of drug discovery and development in areas such as drug delivery, devices, diagnostics and systems biology.
About SRI International
Silicon Valley-based SRI International (www.sri.com) is one of the world’s leading independent research and technology development organizations. Founded as Stanford Research Institute in 1946, SRI has been meeting the strategic needs of clients for more than 60 years. The nonprofit research institute performs client-sponsored research and development for government agencies, commercial businesses, and private foundations. In addition to conducting contract R&D, SRI licenses its technologies, forms strategic partnerships, and creates spin-off companies.
