LEXINGTON, Mass., May 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Agenus Inc.
(NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology company with an extensive
pipeline of agents designed to activate immune response to cancers
and infectious diseases, announced today the FDA acceptance of the
IND application for an allogeneic iNKT therapy, agenT-797,
submitted by its subsidiary, AgenTus Therapeutics. A clinical trial
for the treatment of patients with cancer is expected to commence
2H2020. AgenTus has also submitted a separate IND for the treatment
of COVID-19, which is expected to clear soon.
"We are extremely pleased to rapidly advance our proprietary
iNKT cell therapy to the clinic to combat cancer and also address
the urgent COVID-19 pandemic," said Dr. Walter Flamenbaum, CEO of AgenTus Therapeutics.
"We expect our clinical trials to demonstrate the key features of
agent-797 and the benefits of combinations of our allogeneic iNKTs
with Agenus' pipeline of checkpoint antibodies in solid
tumors."
"I am heartened by our team's efforts to rapidly advance our
allogeneic iNKT cells to treat patients with cancer and COVID-19,"
said Dr. Garo Armen, Chairman and
CEO of Agenus and Chairman of AgenTus Therapeutics. "Our
iNKTs are streamlined for treating large numbers of patients from a
single batch. They are manufactured without the need for genetic
manipulation, are expected to suppress graft-versus-host disease,
can be manufactured affordably, and are designed for quick access
by patients."
Separately, Agenus indicated that it is contemplating several
options with regard to its AgenTus Therapeutics subsidiary. This is
given its previous guidance and the advancement of AgenTus' first
cell therapy candidates towards the clinic. These options include
the potential spinning out of AgenTus and issuing a portion of its
holdings in AgenTus to Agenus shareholders in the form of a stock
dividend. Agenus expects that such a decision will be made by the
end of this year.
About AgenTus Therapeutics, Inc.
AgenTus Therapeutics
is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery,
development, and commercialization of breakthrough allogeneic iNKT
cells in the unmodified and modified with engineered receptors,
such as T cell receptors (TCRs) and Chimeric Antigen Receptors
(CARs), designed to supercharge the human immune system cells to
seek and destroy cancer. AgenTus also aims to advance
adoptive cell therapy formats which would enable off-the-shelf
living drugs. AgenTus has locations in Lexington, MA and Cambridge, UK. For more information,
please visit www.agentustherapeutics.com.
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 combination approaches that leverage a broad repertoire of
antibody therapeutics, adoptive cell therapies (through its AgenTus
Therapeutics subsidiary), 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 clinical programs. Agenus is headquartered
in Lexington, MA. For more
information, please visit www.agenusbio.com and our Twitter
handle @agenus_bio. Information that may be important to investors
will be routinely posted on our website and twitter.
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 anticipated commencement of cell therapy
clinical trials for cancer and COVID-19, the expected benefits to
be observed in these trials and with these cell therapy treatments
generally, the potential spinning out of AgenTus therapeutics and
issuing a portion of Agenus' holdings in AgenTus to Agenus
shareholders in the form of a stock dividend, and the expectation
to make such a decision by the end of 2020. 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.
Jennifer
Buell, PhD
781-674-4420
Jennifer.Buell@agenusbio.com
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SOURCE Agenus Inc.