Norwegian Radium Hospital Research Foundation, Norway
Photocure’s most important and long-standing research relationship is with the Norwegian Radium Hospital Research Foundation (RF), which is affiliated to the Norwegian Radium Hospital (NRH). The main patents covering Metvix, Hexvix and, the PCI-technology were all filed by the NRH. Under the terms of this agreement, PhotoCure supports the RF with research and development funding and gains access to, and an option to acquire all of the new photodynamic therapy technologies developed by the NRH. In February 2003, the parties entered into a new three-year agreement, in which Photocure has a unilateral option to extend the agreement on an annual basis, up to a total of five years. A separate agreement has been entered into between the RF and PCI Biotech, covering the PCI-technology.
The Norwegian Radium Hospital cancer research homepage.
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Municipal University Hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland
Photocure has an agreement with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Municipal University Hospital to collaborate in the development of Hexvix. Photocure has a first right of refusal to intellectual property from the research relating to the use of Hexvix for the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer.
University of Geneva, Switzerland
A collaboration with the University of Geneva has been established to research on derivatives of ALA, especially in the field of formulation development.
Drug Discovery Laboratory (DDL), Norway
DDL is a research-based company that provides laboratory service and consulting to the pharmaceutical industry. DDL assists Photocure with the synthesis of new chemical entities for photodynamic therapy as well as with the intellectual property strategy and implementation under the terms of the cooperation agreement.
Contract Research Organisations (CROs)
Photocure outsources most of its pre-clinical and clinical research and development to a range of CROs. Toxicological studies are conducted in several countries (Denmark, Germany, UK and US) by well-reputated CRO’s like Covance Laboratories Ltd. Clinical research and development, such as human trials and statistical data analysis, is undertaken by a range of CROs in Sweden, UK and the US including, for example, Trial Form Support and Parexel.