On 13th September, JW Bioscience, a subsidiary of JW Life Science, announced that a non-exclusive license agreement for “multi biomarker (CFB and CA19-9)” patent was executed with the Swedish diagnostic company Immunovia AB (Nasdaq Stockholm: IMMNOV).
This licensed IP can be used to detect pancreatic cancer at an early stage and JW Bioscience holds a patent for the IP in Korea, US, 21 European countries, China, and Japan. The license agreement grants Immunovia a non-exclusive right to use the patent, and it is expected to strengthen JW Bioscience’s position in the global in-vitro diagnostic market.
Through this license agreement Immunovia obtained global commercial rights for CFB and CA19-9. The details and deal size of the license agreement is not disclosed as agreed by both companies.
JW Bioscience is pursuing its own development of a complement factor b (CFB) and CA19-9-based early diagnosis kit for pancreatic cancer and expects that it will be an innovative solution to unmet needs as it provides a chance for early detection of pancreatic cancer and increased survival rates through a simple blood test.
Eun-Kyung Hahm, CEO of JW Bioscience, said, “This contract is an important milestone for JW’s unique IP position and a recognition of the excellence of JW technology in the global market.” She also added that, “JW will be able to further strengthen its commercial and technological competitiveness through the collaboration with Immunovia.”
Immunovia has recently introduced the world’s first laboratory developed test for the early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in the United States, exclusively available from Immunovia, Inc.
Patrik Dahlen, CEO of Immunovia, said, “We are delighted to enter into this agreement with JW Bioscience that further secures relevant IP for Immunovia. That the licensed biomarkers were discovered by Immunovia and JW Bioscience independently confirms their respective biomarker discovery approach.” He added that, “By entering into this agreement, Immunovia and JW BioScience will also evaluate possibilities for commercial and development collaboration to enable early detection of pancreatic cancer.”
The holding company JW Holdings obtained patents in Japan (2018), China and Europe (2019), and US (2020) for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. The patent was transferred to JW Bioscience in 2021.
About Immunovia
Immunovia AB is a diagnostic company that is developing and commercializing highly accurate blood tests for the early detection of cancer and autoimmune diseases based on Immunovia’s proprietary test platform called IMMray™. The company was founded in 2007, based on cancer studies and ground-breaking research in the Department of Immuntechnology at Lund University and CREATE Health Cancer Center, Sweden.
In 2017, Immunovia, Inc. was established in Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA. The IMMray™ PanCan-d test, the first blood-based test dedicated to the early detection of pancreatic cancer on the market, is offered as a laboratory developed test (LDT) exclusively through Immunovia, Inc.
The first product, IMMray™ PanCan-d, is undergoing clinical evaluation in some of the world’s largest clinical studies for high risk groups in pancreatic cancer, PanFAM-1, PanSYM-1 and PanDIA-1.
Immunovia’s shares (IMMNOV) are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.
About JW Bioscience
JW Bioscience is a company that focuses on R&D of diagnostic reagents and medical devices. The commercialization of high value-added in-vitro diagnostic kits is ongoing based on the original technology in diagnostic fields such as sepsis and pancreatic cancer. In addition, they are developing a ‘Point-of-Care Testing (POCT)’ product that enables simple and quick diagnosis. The company is also a forerunner in the localization of essential medical devices through products developed with its own technology, such as LED surgical lamp and infant incubator.
In December 2020, it was incorporated as a subsidiary of JW Life Science within the JW group, a company specialized in the production of infusions. With the stable financial power, JW Life Sciences plans to secure the future growth engines by increasing the R&D investment in diagnostic reagents as well as the high value-added nutritional solutions.
JW Life Sciences is listed on the KOSPI as ‘034080’.
About Pancreatic cancer
Every day, a thousand people die from pancreatic cancer in the world, and about 7,600 cases occur annually within Korea. In addition, the 5-year relative survival rate is about 12%, which is the lowest among all cancer types, so early diagnosis is the most important in this incurable disease. However, due to the fact that pancreas is surrounded by other organs and the early symptoms of pancreatic cancer hardly appear, early diagnosis is quite challenging. According to a paper on the prediction of cancer deaths in the US reported in the 2021 JAMA Network, pancreatic cancer is expected to become the second leading cause of death among cancer patients by 2040.