The detour almost to nowhere
ImmunoGen Inc. was rewarded last week for returning to its roots, signing an agreement with SmithKline Beecham plc for its lead compound, huC242-DM1 to treat colorectal cancer. The deal marks a return by the company from an unsuccessful foray outside of its original focus, back to its root concept of creating a therapeutic window for highly toxic low molecular weight drugs by targeting them directly to cancer cells.
"Over the last four years, we've been living hand-to-mouth," said Chairman and CEO Mitchel Sayare, after the company was unable to find a partner for its first product, Oncolysin B to treat lymphoma. The product was a mouse antibody linked to the enzyme ricin, a departure from IMGN's initial focus on small molecule chemotherapeutics...