Roswell Park Licenses Tumor Imaging Technology to Chinese Pharmaceutical Company

BUFFALO, NY - The Technology Transfer Office of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center announced it has signed a licensing agreement with Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., for tumor imaging technology developed by Roswell Park researcher Ravindra Pandey, PhD. Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical is one of China's largest producers of oncology drugs.

Donald Trump, MD, FACP, President and CEO of Roswell Park remarked, “Roswell Park has a commitment to bringing therapies developed at Roswell Park to market, and this licensing agreement with Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceuticals is an excellent example of that. Technology transfer is crucial to decreasing cancer mortality rates around the world.”

Hua Bai, President and Chief Executive Officer of Zhejiang Hisun commented, “The license for tumor imaging also shows it has potential as an anticancer treatment agent. We believe a drug with these properties would be extremely valuable for patients in China. It may play a significant role in improving treatment options for people with cancer, and will greatly enrich Zhejiang Hisun's growing oncology drug pipeline.”

Roswell Park's Technology Transfer Office was created to commercialize Roswell Park-generated discoveries, with licensing revenues reinvested in cancer research at the Institute. Richard Matner, PhD, MBA, Director of Roswell Park's Technology Transfer Office works with researchers and clinicians at Roswell Park to identify discoveries that have commercial potential and to market that potential to prospective business partners.

Dr. Matner recently spoke about technology transfer and licensing in an interview with Technology Transfer Tactics magazine. “We've found that, overall, the capacity for risk tolerance is higher in Asia than in the US or Europe. Assets or free capital move projects forward, and there's a higher level in China and India,” Matner continued, “Right now China's got $2 trillion in the bank and a straightforward mission from the Premier to bring various therapies into China. We've been a little ahead of the curve in that we've been negotiating in Asia for some time.”

The mission of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. Roswell Park, founded in 1898, was one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation's leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit Roswell Park's website at http://www.roswellpark.org, call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or email AskRoswell@Roswellpark.org.