Dyax, GE Healthcare partner to develop and commercialize c-Met imaging peptides

GE Healthcare, a unit of GE (NYSE:GE), and Dyax Corp. (NASDAQ:DYAX) today announced a licensing agreement for the development and commercialization of peptides binding to c-Met, which provides upfront, milestone, and royalty payments to Dyax. Research of potential diagnostic applications and use as a patient selection biomarker in oncology will be explored by GE Healthcare in collaboration with academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies. The license includes application of the peptides in positron emission tomography (PET), single proton emission computed tomography (SPECT), and optical imaging.

"Growth factor receptors such as c-Met are promising therapeutic targets that could be a critical factor in the development of colorectal, lung and liver oncology drugs," said Marivi Mendizabal, Head of Research, GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics. "As in vivo imaging technologies become increasingly important in oncology drug development, our vision is that we will be able to rapidly develop new targeted molecular diagnostics - not just for our own clinical portfolio, but as 'companion' diagnostic offerings for our strategic biopharmaceutical partnerships."

Initial preclinical data on c-Met imaging will be presented by GE Healthcare at the American Academy of Cancer Research meeting March 31 - April 4 in Chicago, IL.

"This agreement validates the strength of Dyax's core phage display library technology to support GE Healthcare's work to aid the development of cutting-edge treatment options for patients," said Gustav Christensen, President and Chief Executive Officer at Dyax Corp. "With 18 Dyax-derived antibody or peptide programs currently in human clinical trials, we continue to demonstrate the utility of Dyax's proven and highly successful engine to power both therapeutic and diagnostic development."

Source: GE Healthcare