June 18, 2010

Redwood City-based OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. has formed an alliance, which includes $40 million in upfront cash, with Bayer Schering Pharma AG of Germany to develop cancer-fighting stem cell therapies.

OncoMed claims to be the first to discover cancer stem cells or “tumor-initiating cells.” They were first discovered in breast cancer and later in other solid tumor cancers like cancer of the head and neck, lung, prostate, pancreas and glioblastoma. These cancer stem cells seem to be resistant to standard chemotherapy and radiotherapy and appear to play a large part in the initiation of tumors and in metastasis and recurrence of cancer.

“The development of anti-cancer stem cell therapeutics together with OncoMed is a highly innovative approach with the potential to perfectly complement our oncology portfolio,” said Professor Andreas Busch, Head of Global Drug Discovery and a member of the board of management at Bayer Schering Pharma, in a press release. “Anti-cancer stem cell research could turn out as one of the missing pieces in today’s cancer therapy,” he said.

Beyond the $40 million in upfront cash, OncoMed could earn from Bayer as much as $387.5 million on each of up to five potential drug compounds. But that’s once they get through the final Phase III clinical trials, approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are generating sales.

At any time up until Phase I clinical tests are completed Bayer has the right to exclusively license any of the five antibody and protein therapeutic candidates from OncoMed.

OncoMed’s most promising therapeutic candidate is scheduled to start clinical trials in 2011. Plans are to enroll up to 30 patients at up to four centers. For details go to ClinicalTrials.gov.

“Our alliance with Bayer represents a major opportunity to discover and develop an entirely new class of anti-cancer stem cell therapeutics with one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the world,” said Paul Hastings, President and CEO of OncoMed, in a press release.

The company was founded in August of 2004 based on research by Drs. Michael F. Clarke and Max Wicha. OncoMed’s website describes them as pioneers in the discovery of cancer stem cells in solid tumors.

To date OncoMed has had funding from US Venture Partners, Latterell Venture Partners, The Vertical Group, Morgenthaler Ventures, Nomura Phase4 Ventures, Delphi Ventures, Adams Street Partners, De Novo Ventures and Bay Partners.