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HOUSTON, Texas - September 29, 2003 - Royal Philips Electronics
(NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) announced today that it will collaborate with
Cell>Point, L.L.C, a biotechnology company based in Englewood, Colo., to
optimize Cell>Point's novel diagnostic imaging agent on Philips'
SKYLight & gantry-free gamma camera. The companies will share clinical
trial costs to develop the best imaging techniques for improved clinical
information and accuracy of diagnoses. The joint goal is to develop a
cost-effective, readily accessible molecular imaging technology that can
help more clinics and hospitals accurately diagnose cancer and
pre-screen patients for therapy.
"There is an interdependence between the companies developing molecular
imaging technologies and those developing the agents, and close
collaboration among these groups is essential for applied molecular
imaging to become a reality” said Peter Luyten, director of molecular
imaging, for Philips Medical Systems. “Industry acceptance and
widespread adoption of molecular imaging technology will depend on the
availability of quality images and proven techniques for successfully
imaging and detecting disease. The
agreement between Philips and Cell>Point represents a new kind of
collaboration that can fulfill those requirements and open the door for
future agreements of this kind.”
Utilizing clinical trial data, Philips will further develop and refine
imaging techniques for SKYLight, the industry's first and only
gantry-free nuclear camera, to determine requirements for the highest
possible image quality and quantitative information about patients'
disease.
The agreement will utilize Cell>Point's ethylenedicysteine drug
conjugate technology (“EC Technology”), a unique delivery system that
functions as a chemical bridge linking tissue-specific ligands (such as
hormones, proteins, peptides, glucose analogues) or pharmaceutical
compounds (investigational or FDA-approved drugs) to radioisotopes for
cancer diagnosis and treatment. “Essentially, this technology is a
universal glue that expands the potential of molecular imaging,” said
Luyten.
On the diagnostic side, the companies will collaborate on Cell>Point's
first molecular imaging agent, 99mTc-EC-deoxyglucose . EC Technology
allows the deoxyglucose to be labeled (i.e., linked) with the
radioisotope Technetium- 99m (" 99mTc"). 99m Tc is an excellent
radioisotope for diagnostic imaging in nuclear medicine because of its
optimal energy for imaging, long half-life, wide availability and ease
of use. Radiologists have ready access to 99m Tc either from an in-house
Molybdinum generator or by unit dose ordering from radiopharmaceutical
companies. To date, however, promising molecular imaging agents have not
been labeled with 99mTc due to its chemical complexity and the lack of a
chemically stable coupler capable of linking it to diagnostic compounds.
EC Technology's chemical stability and versatility will enable the
widespread use and availability of 99m Tc labeled agents.
The collaboration will utilize 99m Tc-EC-deoxyglucose to target tumors
and SPECT cameras, including Philips' nuclear medicine cameras to image
them. Tumors absorb more glucose than surrounding tissue, so when a
cancer patient is injected with this chemically linked agent (via EC
Technology), active tumors will absorb both the glucose and the
radioisotope. Several of the medical institutions where further clinical
trials will be performed will utilize Philips' SKYLight cameras and
associated analytical software to produce images of the tumors as well
as their rate of radioisotope uptake. The information acquired from the
SPECT imaging will be used to determine the location and size of the
tumors, as well as to predict required therapeutic doses of agents.
“EC Technology-based molecular imaging agents will utilize SPECT
cameras to provide a cost-effective, convenient and widespread modality
for molecular imaging, and since SPECT cameras are already installed in
thousands of clinical departments nationwide, the adoption
curve forth is technology should be reasonably quick” said Cell>Point CEO Greg
Colip . “Philips has outstanding SPECT technology, and we're thrilled
to strategically align ourselves with them to help advance molecular
imaging agents, enabling more facilities to conduct cancer screening.”
The Phase I clinical trial began in April 2003 at The University of
Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, ranked the nation's best cancer
hospital in 2002 and 2003 by U.S. News & World Report . Philips will
review the trial data and determine if adjustments are needed to improve
the clinical and diagnostic quality of the images. If necessary, Philips
will reprocess the data by optimizing the reconstruction filtering
parameters and acquisition protocols for molecular imaging in oncology .
This technology can provide significant improvements in the accuracy of
diagnosing the presence and the extent of cancer . This agreement can
potentially expand into treatments using the same EC Technology to
couple a therapeutic radionuclide to a tissue-specific ligand or
targeting cancer drug to deliver therapy directly to the tumor site.
Philips' SKYLight gantry-free nuclear camera removes limitations
associated with the floor-based mechanical gantries of existing nuclear
medicine cameras. SKYLight's unique architecture allows gamma detectors
to be mounted directly into a room's structure or ceiling and is
particularly beneficial for patients in severe pain and those who cannot
move allowing operators to image almost any size patient, in almost any
condition, in almost any position . SKYLight operators are not required
to leave the patient's side.
The latest version of SKYLight, SKYLight 2.0, features a unique
concurrent imaging capability that allows clinicians to acquire optimal
images for molecular agents and drugs/ radiopharmaceuticals
simultaneously, providing better quality images for interpretation and
significantly reducing imaging time. Concurrent imaging uses a single
acquisition data stream to generate up to 16 image sets simultaneously,
each with a different energy window setting. The sets can then be
processed and converted into clinically useful information.
Cell>Point obtained the worldwide license to EC Technology from The
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center .
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