BioCentury
ARTICLE | Tools & Techniques

Genentech hedge(hog)s its bets

June 23, 2003 7:00 AM UTC

When Biogen Inc. ended its deal with Curis Inc. to discover and commercialize proteins of the hedgehog gene family in neurological indications, BGEN cited its uncertainty about when a compound could reach the clinic. BGEN's concerns were not totally unjustified, as two years later, CRIS still does not have a hedgehog therapeutic in the clinic.

But CRIS, which is pursuing both neurological and cancer indications in its program, maintains that hedgehog is coming of age. Last week, it partnered the oncology portion with Genentech Inc. The deal bolsters DNA's own early stage hedgehog program by adding antibody and small molecule inhibitors of the pathway, in addition to providing IP. ...