New agreement includes exclusive rights to organoselenium compounds for all indications.

Alteon and Oxis amended and restated an existing licensing agreement. Under the new terms of the agreement, Alteon adds exclusive, worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and market related organoselenium compounds in the Oxis library for all indications.


Alteon will be responsible for the worldwide product development programs and will make an equity investment, pay Oxis an upfront license fee of of $500,000, development and regulatory approval milestones, and royalties.


ALT-2074, Alteon’s lead compound under this license, is currently in a Phase II study for cardiovascular indications. Alteon believes that the compound may be useful in patients with diabetes, whose cardiovascular disease may be caused by high levels of circulating oxidized lipids and associated inflammation.


“Oxidized lipids, or lipid peroxides, have been increasingly recognized as pathological and are associated with an increased risk for larger heart attacks and more severe heart failure, particularly among diabetic patients,” notes Noah Berkowitz, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of Alteon. “ALT-2074 is currently in an exploratory Phase II trial seeking to reduce myocardial injury in diabetic patients undergoing angioplasty or similar interventions. Our plans are to launch another study looking at the impact of ALT-2074 on inflammatory biomarkers and we may investigate the potential benefits of this new class of compounds in the treatment of other diseases.”

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