Humanigen Executes Licensing Agreement for Lenzilumab™ in COVID-19 with KPM Tech/Telcon RF Pharmaceutical for South Korea &...
November 03 2020 - 7:30AM
Business Wire
- Agreement provides Humanigen up to US$20 million in
milestones and double-digit royalties on product sales
- Transaction supports the Humanigen Asia-Pacific regional
corporate development strategy
Humanigen, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGEN) (“Humanigen”), a clinical
stage biopharmaceutical company focused on preventing and treating
an immune hyper-response called ‘cytokine storm’ with its lead drug
candidate lenzilumab, today announced the execution of its first
licensing transaction in the Asia-Pacific Region with Telcon RF
Pharmaceutical, Inc. (“Telcon”) (200230.KQ) and KPM Tech Co., Ltd
(“KPM Tech”) (042040.KQ) for development and commercialization
rights to lenzilumab for COVID-19 for South Korea and the
Philippines.
Telcon is an affiliate of KPM Tech and both companies recently
invested in the Humanigen June 2020 PIPE offering. Telcon produces
liquid formulations, tablets, pills, capsules, and other
pharmaceutical products, as well as communication equipment.
Mr. Ji-Hoon Kim, CEO of Telcon and KPM Tech, said, “We have
supported Humanigen through an equity investment and see lenzilumab
as an excellent therapeutic solution for the hyperinflammation seen
in COVID-19 hospitalized patients. Lenzilumab has a significant
part to play in the treatment of patients in the pandemic and
beyond. We are honored to be selected to develop and potentially
launch lenzilumab in South Korea and the Philippines.”
The licensing agreement includes payments of up to US$20 million
with US$6 million as an upfront payment upon execution of the
licensing agreement and the balance of US$14 million in two
payments based on achievement by Humanigen of specified milestones
in the US. Telcon and KPM Tech will be responsible for gaining
regulatory approval and subsequent commercialization of lenzilumab
in its territories. Humanigen will earn double-digit royalties
following receipt of those approvals on net sales subsequent to
commercialization. The number of COVID-19 cases in South Korea and
the Philippines is more than 412,000.1
“Telcon and KPM Tech invested in Humanigen with a view to
increase involvement moving forward,” said Bob Atwill, Head of
Asia-Pacific Region at Humanigen. “This is the next step in our
relationship and we are grateful for the support we have received.
Humanigen’s expansion strategy in the Asia-Pacific region is well
underway and this is the first of other anticipated licensing
transactions for lenzilumab in COVID-19 hospitalised patients.”
About Humanigen, Inc.
Humanigen, Inc. is developing
its portfolio of clinical and pre-clinical therapies for the
treatment of cancers and infectious diseases via its novel,
cutting-edge GM-CSF neutralization and gene-knockout platforms. We
believe that our GM-CSF neutralization and gene-editing platform
technologies have the potential to reduce the inflammatory cascade
associated with coronavirus infection. The company’s immediate
focus is to prevent or minimize the cytokine release syndrome that
precedes severe lung dysfunction and ARDS in serious cases of
SARS-CoV-2 infection. The company is also focused on creating
next-generation combinatory gene-edited CAR-T therapies using
strategies to improve efficacy while employing GM-CSF gene knockout
technologies to control toxicity. In addition, the company is
developing its own portfolio of proprietary first-in-class
EphA3-CAR-T for various solid cancers and EMR1-CAR-T for various
eosinophilic disorders. The company is also exploring the
effectiveness of its GM-CSF neutralization technologies (either
through the use of lenzilumabTM as a neutralizing antibody or
through GM-CSF gene knockout) in combination with other CAR-T,
bispecific or natural killer (NK) T cell engaging immunotherapy
treatments to break the efficacy/toxicity linkage, including to
prevent and/or treat graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) in patients
undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
(HSCT). Additionally, Humanigen and Kite, a Gilead Company, are
evaluating lenzilumab in combination with Yescarta® (axicabtagene
ciloleucel) in patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell
lymphoma in a clinical collaboration. For more information, visit
www.humanigen.com.
About KPM Tech Co., Ltd/Telcon RF Pharmaceutical,
Inc.
KPM Tech was established in March 1971 to develop and
manufacture plating chemicals, fully automatic plating equipment
products, and associated technologies. On January 7, 2003, KPM Tech
was approved for registration and transaction on the KOSDAQ stock
market of the Korea Exchange. Key areas of focus include the
manufacture and sale of PCBs, electronic communication
semiconductors, surface treatment chemicals for automobile parts,
and fully automatic plating equipment. KPM Tech and its
subsidiaries also develop pharmaceutical and biotechnology
products, including Opiranserin, an investigational non-narcotic
analgesic that has completed a Phase 1/2a clinical trial in
Korea.
Telcon was established in January 1999 to produce connectors,
cable assemblies, etc. used in the manufacture of wireless
communication equipment and today also manufactures and
commercializes pharmaceutical products. The company was listed on
the KOSDAQ market on November 24, 2014 and major business sectors
include Telcon RF and pharmaceuticals/biotechnology. The
pharmaceutical/biotechnology business division operates a Korea
Good Manufacturing Practice (KGMP) production facility to produce
liquid formulation products and other formulations such as tablets,
pills, and capsules. There is also a continued investment in the
development of new drugs.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements reflect management's current knowledge,
assumptions, judgment and expectations regarding future performance
or events. Although management believes that the expectations
reflected in such statements are reasonable, they give no assurance
that such expectations will prove to be correct and you should be
aware that actual events or results may differ materially from
those contained in the forward-looking statements. Words such as
"will," "expect," "intend," "plan," "potential," "possible,"
"goals," "accelerate," "continue," and similar expressions identify
forward-looking statements, including, without limitation,
statements regarding our expectations surrounding our operational,
research, development or commercialization activities relating to
lenzilumab in the Asia Pacific region, our ability to achieve the
US-based milestones to earn subsequent payments, and the ability of
KPM Tech and Telcon to attain required regulatory approvals in the
covered territories for us to generate royalties based on their net
sales of lenzilumab. Forward-looking statements are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to,
the risks inherent in our lack of profitability and need for
additional capital to grow our business; our dependence on partners
to further the development of our product candidates; the
uncertainties inherent in the development, attainment of requisite
regulatory approvals and launch of any new pharmaceutical product;
the outcome of pending or future litigation; and the various risks
and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" sections and
elsewhere in the Company's periodic and other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their
entirety by this cautionary notice. You should not place undue
reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of
the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to revise or
update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to
reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect
new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except
as required by law.
1 The New York Times. Covid World Map: Tracking the Global
Outbreak. Updated November 2, 2020. Accessed November 2, 2020.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/world/coronavirus-maps.html.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201103005167/en/
Media Cammy Duong Westwicke, an ICR company
Cammy.Duong@Westwicke.com 203-682-8380
Investors Alan Lada Solebury Trout alada@troutgroup.com
856-313-8206
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