LEXINGTON, Mass., April 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Agenus Inc.
(NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology (I-O) 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 its anti-PD-1 antibody, AGEN2034.
The open-label, dose-escalation portion of the trial is designed
to evaluate the safety and pharmacological activity of AGEN2034 in
patients with advanced solid tumors. Part 2 of the trial is planned
to evaluate the recommended dose of AGEN2034 in patients with
second line cervical cancer. Preliminary safety and efficacy data
are expected to be available within the next 9-12 months.
"The entry of our PD-1 antagonist into the clinic is key to our
strategy to pursue combination therapies," said Garo H. Armen, Ph.D. Chairman and CEO of Agenus.
"PD-1 is a clinically validated target, and to combine it with our
CTLA-4 directed antibody is the backbone of Agenus' combination
strategy. We also intend to pursue combinations of PD-1 and CTLA-4
antibodies with our novel portfolio of other checkpoint antibodies
as well as our neoantigen cancer vaccines."
AGEN2034 is an antagonist antibody targeting programmed death 1,
or PD-1. PD-1 is an inhibitory receptor expressed on activated T
cells. When this receptor interacts with PD-L1 or PD-L2 molecules
expressed on cancer cells, the T cells' ability to kill cancer
cells is neutralized. Therefore, blocking PD-1 with AGEN2034 may
allow T cells to recognize and kill tumor cells.
"Immune checkpoint antibodies targeting PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4
have become the mainstay of I-O combinations," said Jean-Marie
Cuillerot, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Agenus. "Co-targeting the
PD-1/PD-L1 axis in combination with CTLA-4 has shown a near
doubling of clinical efficacy in certain indications. We believe
our strategy in pursuing virally-induced cancers presents a rapid
path to BLA for our PD-1 and CTLA-4 antagonists. In addition,
combination approaches involving our vaccines offer a unique
opportunity for differentiation in patients who are unresponsive to
checkpoint directed monotherapies."
Additional information about the trial can be found here.
AGEN2034 was originally developed under a Collaborative Research
and Development Agreement between Ludwig Cancer Research,
4-Antibody AG and Recepta Biopharma S.A.
About Agenus
Agenus is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focused on
the discovery and development of therapies that engage the body's
immune system to fight cancer. The Company's vision is to expand
the patient populations benefiting from cancer immunotherapy by
pursuing a number of combination approaches that leverage a broad
repertoire of antibody therapeutics and proprietary cancer vaccine
platforms. The Company is equipped with a suite of antibody
discovery platforms and a state-of-the-art GMP manufacturing
facility with the capacity to support early phase clinical
programs. Agenus is based in Lexington,
MA. 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.