– Companies will partner to advance
multispecific antibodies in up to seven discrete projects,
including one program against an undisclosed target currently in
lead selection –
– Exelixis’ expansion into biologics builds
upon history of success in the discovery, development and
commercialization of small molecule drugs –
Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) today announced that it has
entered into a collaboration with Invenra, Inc., the Madison,
Wisconsin-based biotechnology firm focused on developing
next-generation biologics, to discover and develop multispecific
antibodies for the treatment of cancer. The partnership pairs
Exelixis’ fundamental biological insights, clinical development
prowess and commercialization expertise with Invenra’s innovative
platform technologies and biologics expertise to identify,
optimize, and manufacture multispecific therapeutics, including
immunotherapy applications. The collaboration is part of Exelixis’
ongoing strategy to build an innovative pipeline beyond its two
internally discovered, commercially available compounds,
cabozantinib and cobimetinib. The agreement with Invenra creates a
biologics discovery capability that complements Exelixis’ in-house
small molecule drug discovery efforts.
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Under the terms of the agreement, Exelixis and Invenra will
collaborate to discover and develop multispecific antibodies
through the use of Invenra’s B-Body™ technology platform, which
enables high-throughput discovery, functional screening, and in
vitro and in vivo preclinical characterization of promising
therapeutic candidates. Invenra will be responsible for antibody
lead discovery and generation. Exelixis will lead investigational
new drug (IND)-enabling studies, manufacturing, clinical
development in single-agent and combination therapy regimens, as
well as future regulatory and commercialization activities.
“Partnering with Invenra to leverage its deep expertise in
protein engineering and the discovery of multispecific antibodies
is an important step toward adding proprietary biologics to the
Exelixis pipeline,” said Peter Lamb, Ph.D., Executive Vice
President, Discovery Research and Chief Scientific Officer of
Exelixis.” We are excited to work with the Invenra team and have
structured our collaboration to provide relatively small financial
support upfront and pay for success down the road. As we rebuild
our internal small molecule discovery capability, this partnership
provides a complementary approach that enables us to target
pathways not accessible to small molecules, increasing our ability
to advance novel therapies into the clinic.”
Under the collaboration agreement, Exelixis will receive an
exclusive, worldwide license to one preclinical asset, and Exelixis
and Invenra intend to pursue up to six additional discovery
projects during the term of the collaboration, which in total are
directed to three discovery programs. In consideration for the
exclusive worldwide license and other rights contained in the
collaboration agreement, Exelixis will pay Invenra an upfront
payment of $2.0 million plus $2.0 million at initiation of each
discovery project. Invenra is eligible to receive payments of up to
$131.5 million based on the achievement of specific pre-clinical,
clinical development and regulatory milestones for any product
containing a lead preclinical asset in the first indication. Upon
successful commercialization of a product, Invenra is eligible to
receive global milestone payments up to $325 million, if certain
sales thresholds are achieved as well as single digit tiered
royalties on net sales of the approved product.
“We’re very excited to partner with Exelixis on this multi-asset
collaboration as the company moves beyond its small molecule
expertise to build a biologics pipeline,” said Roland Green, Ph.D.,
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Invenra. “Invenra’s
B-Body™ platform has been validated internally. Our innovative
technologies to discover, characterize, and generate multispecific
antibodies pair well with Exelixis’ demonstrated success in
oncology clinical development and commercialization. We look
forward to working together with the Exelixis team to bring forward
potential new anti-cancer therapies.”
About Invenra
Invenra, Inc., is a biotechnology company focused on the
discovery and development of multispecific antibodies for
immuno-oncology. Invenra’s proprietary B-Body™ and SNIPER™
technologies are used to develop novel antibodies that can bind to
two or more specific therapeutic targets and mimic the natural IgG
antibodies made by the human body. The B-Body™ platform enables the
rapid identification of an optimal combination of epitope, affinity
and geometry of an antibody using high throughput in-format
screening for function in cell-based assays, while maintaining the
biophysical characteristics needed for lead development.
Importantly, the B-Body™ platform is designed to create advantages
for candidate discovery with novel mechanisms of action and ease of
manufacturing. Invenra has developed its own pipeline of lead
multispecific antibodies and has partnered with several
biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies who leverage Invenra’s
technologies to identify molecules with biological relevance for
drug development. For more information, please visit
www.invenra.com.
About Exelixis
Founded in 1994, Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) is a commercially
successful, oncology-focused biotechnology company that strives to
accelerate the discovery, development and commercialization of new
medicines for difficult-to-treat cancers. Following early work in
model genetic systems, we established a broad drug discovery and
development platform that has served as the foundation for our
continued efforts to bring new cancer therapies to patients in
need. We discovered our lead compounds, cabozantinib and
cobimetinib, and advanced them into clinical development before
entering into partnerships with leading biopharmaceutical companies
in our efforts to bring them to patients globally. We are steadfast
in our commitment to prudently reinvest in our business to maximize
the potential of our pipeline. We intend to supplement our existing
therapeutic assets with targeted business development activities
and internal drug discovery – all to deliver the next generation of
Exelixis medicines and help patients recover stronger and live
longer. Exelixis recently earned a spot on Deloitte’s Technology
Fast 500 list, a yearly award program honoring the 500
fastest-growing companies over the past four years. For more
information about Exelixis, please visit www.exelixis.com or follow
@ExelixisInc on Twitter.
Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements,
including, without limitation, statements related to: Exelixis’
strategy to build an innovative pipeline beyond cabozantinib and
cobimetinib; Exelixis’ plan to add proprietary biologics to its
pipeline and the importance of the Invenra partnership to that
plan; the potential for the Invenra partnership to increase
Exelixis’ ability to advance novel therapies into the clinic;
Exelixis’ and Invenra’s intent to pursue up to six additional
discovery projects during the term of the collaboration; Exelixis’
immediate and potential future financial obligations under the
collaboration and license agreement with Invenra; the potential of
the Exelixis-Invenra partnership to bring forward potential new
anti-cancer therapies; Exelixis’ commitment to reinvesting in its
business to maximize the potential of its pipeline, including
through targeted business development activities and internal drug
discovery; and Exelixis’ mission to deliver the next generation of
Exelixis medicines and help patients recover stronger and live
longer. Words such as “will,” “strategy,” “intend,” “look forward,”
“focused,” “potential,” “may,” “commitment,” or other similar
expressions identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of
these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not
forward-looking. In addition, any statements that refer to
expectations, projections or other characterizations of future
events or circumstances are forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are based upon Exelixis’ current plans,
assumptions, beliefs, expectations, estimates and projections.
Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual
results and the timing of events could differ materially from those
anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of these
risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation: the
inherent uncertainty of the drug discovery process; Exelixis’
dependence on its relationships with its collaboration partners,
including, the level of their investment in the resources necessary
to successfully develop and commercialize products subject to the
collaboration; the level of costs associated with Exelixis’
commercialization, research and development, in-licensing or
acquisition of product candidates, and other activities; Exelixis’
ability and the ability of its collaborators to conduct preclinical
studies and clinical trials of the products in its pipeline
sufficient to achieve a positive completion; risks related to the
potential failure of the products in Exelixis’ pipeline to
demonstrate safety and efficacy in clinical testing; risks and
uncertainties related to regulatory review and approval processes
and Exelixis’ compliance with applicable legal and regulatory
requirements; market acceptance of CABOMETYX, COMETRIQ, and
COTELLIC and the availability of coverage and reimbursement for
these products; competition in the area of business development
activities; Exelixis’ dependence on third-party vendors for the
development, manufacture and supply of its products; Exelixis’
ability to protect the company’s intellectual property rights;
market competition; changes in economic and business conditions,
and other factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in
Exelixis’ quarterly report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 26, 2018, and in
Exelixis’ future filings with the SEC. The forward-looking
statements made in this press release speak only as of the date of
this press release. Exelixis expressly disclaims any duty,
obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or
revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to
reflect any change in Exelixis’ expectations with regard thereto or
any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such
statements are based.
Exelixis, the Exelixis logo and Invenra are
registered U.S. trademarks.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180502006613/en/
For Exelixis:Investors
Contact:Exelixis, Inc.Susan Hubbard, 650-837-8194EVP, Public
Affairs and Investor Relationsshubbard@exelixis.comorMedia
Contact:For Exelixis, Inc.Hal Mackins,
415-994-0040hal@torchcommunications.comorFor
Invenra:Angela Bitting,
925-202-6211media@invenra.com
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