LEXINGTON, Mass., Nov. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Agenus Inc.
(NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology company with a pipeline of
immune checkpoint antibodies and cancer vaccines, today announced
that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial
of the anti-OX40 agonist antibody INCAGN1949. The trial is being
conducted by, and in collaboration with, Incyte Corporation.
The open-label, dose-escalation portion of the trial will
evaluate the safety and tolerability of INCAGN1949 in patients with
advanced or metastatic solid tumors and determine its
pharmacologically active and/or maximum tolerated dose. Part 2 of
the trial is planned to evaluate the recommended dose of INCAGN1949
in multiple tumor types.
"We are pleased with the progress of our fruitful alliance with
Incyte and also anticipate advancing a number of Agenus programs
outside of the Incyte collaboration, such as our PD-1 antagonist,
AGEN2034, into clinical development in the coming months," said
Garo H. Armen, Ph.D. Chairman and
CEO of Agenus. "Our pipeline of proprietary and differentiated
assets continues to offer opportunities for additional
partnerships."
INCAGN1949 is an agonist antibody targeting OX40, otherwise
known as CD134 or TNFRSF4. OX40 is a co-stimulatory receptor found
on activated T cells. OX40 engagement has a two-pronged effect; it
can stimulate proliferation of activated T cells that may promote
tumor killing and inhibit the activity of regulatory T cells that
mediate immune suppression. INCAGN1949 was discovered during
an earlier collaboration with Ludwig Cancer Research. This antibody
is being co-developed with Incyte.
"Immune checkpoint antibodies including those targeting
PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 have shown clinical activity across multiple
tumor types that supported their approval in a number of
indications, but a significant proportion of patients are still in
need of additional intervention," said Jean-Marie Cuillerot, M.D.,
VP and Global Head of Clinical Development. "OX40 is an important
co-stimulatory checkpoint that contributes to the regulation of the
immune anti-tumor response. We believe OX40 agonism provides a
robust framework for combination therapy with a potential to make a
meaningful difference to patients afflicted by this deadly
disease."
Additional information about the trial can be found here.
About Checkpoint Antibodies
Monoclonal antibodies that bind to immune checkpoint receptors,
such as CTLA-4 and PD-1, are proven immunotherapeutic targets.
These molecules serve as gateways employed by the body to prevent
an overt immune response or allow rapid activation of the immune
response when needed. Unfortunately, these necessary mechanisms of
control can hinder the anti-cancer immune response. They can be
harnessed by cancer cells as a defense against immune attack.
Agenus is developing a broad pipeline of antibodies that bind to
key immune checkpoint proteins and activate or block their
activities for use in cancer therapy.
About Agenus
Agenus is an immuno-oncology company focused on the discovery
and development of revolutionary new treatments that engage the
body's immune system to benefit patients suffering from cancer. By
combining multiple powerful platforms, Agenus has established a
highly integrated approach to target identification and validation,
and for the discovery, development and manufacture of monoclonal
antibodies that modulate targets of interest. The Company's broad
portfolio of novel checkpoint and other immuno-modulatory
monoclonal antibodies, vaccines and adjuvants, work in combination
to provide the opportunity to create best-in-class therapeutic
regimens. Agenus' heat shock protein-based vaccine, Prophage™, has
successfully completed Phase 2 trials in newly-diagnosed
glioblastoma. The Company has formed collaborations with Merck and
Incyte to discover and develop multiple checkpoint antibodies. For
more information, please visit www.agenusbio.com; information that
may be important to investors will be routinely posted on our
website.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that
are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the federal
securities laws, including statements regarding the Company's
product candidates and clinical trial plans. These forward-looking
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties
include, among others, the factors described under the Risk Factors
section of our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or annual
report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Agenus cautions investors not to place considerable
reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this
release. These statements speak only as of the date of this press
release, and Agenus undertakes no obligation to update or revise
the statements, other than to the extent required by law. All
forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their
entirety by this cautionary statement.
Contact:
Agenus Inc.
Michelle Linn, 781-674-4541
michelle.linn@agenusbio.com
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SOURCE Agenus Inc.