The license agreement gives Hansa Medical an exclusive and global right to HGSIs all granted patents and pending patent applications regarding inventions around the alpha-11 integrin such as therapeutic anti-alpha-11 antibodies. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“By uniting Hansa Medicals’ alpha-11 patent applications with the patents around alpha-11 developed by Human Genome Sciences, we create a strong patent portfolio for our anti-alpha-11 program. Integrating all intellectual property around the alpha-11 protein in one portfolio will further increase the commercial potential for this novel and innovative drug target” says Emanuel Björne, Chief Executive Officer of Hansa Medical.

Alpha-11 is a novel drug target for treatment of the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis. In research studies, Hansa Medical have shown that anti-alpha-11 antibodies potentially could have better efficacy profile than present treatments on the market today. The market for biological treatments of reumatoid arthritis is estimated to be approximately USD 12 billion in 2010.