2006-06-19
Affibody AB and GE Healthcare Enter A Research Agreement
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, June 19, 2006 - Affibody AB today announced that the Company has entered a research agreement with GE Healthcare, a division of the General Electric Company. Under the agreement, Affibody will provide Affibody® molecules for three disease targets as defined by GE Healthcare.
Affibody® molecules, with their favorable biodistribution, high target specificity and acceptability to protein engineering approaches, are considered suitable candidates for targeted in vivo imaging applications. The aim is to allow early diagnosis of disease and thereby allowing physicians to optimize the therapy on a personalized basis. Under the agreement, GE Healthcare has the exclusive option to take any licenses required for developing and commercializing imaging agents resulting from this collaboration.
Affibody retains all rights for use of the selected Affibody® molecules outside the scope of in vivo diagnostic and medical imaging.
Dr. Ulf Boberg, Chief Executive Officer at Affibody, commented: "We are delighted to announce an agreement with GE Healthcare, regarded as a leader in the rapidly expanding field of molecular imaging. This agreement broadens the current uses of Affibody® molecules in medicine, and demonstrates the increasing interest in the use of molecular imaging agents to monitor disease."