Bristol-Myers Squibb
Executive Summary
Signs agreement with the Italian firm Indena to derive anti-cancer agent taxol from needles and twigs of yew tree species in Europe and Asia, the company announces on June 24. Taxol extracted from the bark of Pacific yew trees has shown activity against ovarian and breast cancer. Under the new agreement, Indena, based in Milan, will extract the natural chemical 10-deacetylbaccatin III, a precursor for taxol, from the renewable biomass of yew twigs and needles and export it to the U.S. BMS will then process the natural chemical into taxol through a semi-synthetic method licensed from Florida State University last year. BMS, which plans to file an NDA for natural taxol in the next few months, hopes to file an NDA for this new source in 1993.