Agenus Doses First COVID-19 Patient with iNKT Cell Therapy
November 02 2020 - 8:45AM
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 the dosing of the
first COVID-19 patient with agenT-797, an allogeneic cell therapy,
through its subsidiary, AgenTus Therapeutics. The trial is being
led by Dr. Koen van Besien at Weill Cornell Medical College/New
York Presbyterian Hospital. Separately, the FDA has also cleared
agenT-797 to treat patients with cancer. Cancer trials are expected
to commence shortly.
"We are pleased to advance our proprietary iNKT cell therapy in
our efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Walter
Flamenbaum, CEO of AgenTus Therapeutics. “Our trial is designed to
treat patients with moderate to severe symptoms of COVID-19, where
these cells have the potential to clear SARS-CoV-2 virus, dampen
harmful inflammation, and prevent reinfection.”
"iNKT cell therapy offers new promise for the fight against
solid tumor cancers as well as COVID-19,” said Dr. Garo Armen,
Chairman and CEO of Agenus. “iNKTs can penetrate tissues, giving
them a critical advantage in targeting solid tumors not currently
served by approved cell therapies. iNKTs have also demonstrated
curative potential in preclinical cancer models that are refractory
to available therapies. Our product is designed to treat patients
affordably and accessibly.”
As a subsidiary of Agenus, AgenTus currently has unique access
to Agenus’s portfolio of checkpoint antibodies and cancer vaccines
which allows for optimal combinations with its cell therapies. This
gives the company enormous flexibility to develop effective
combinations with curative potential for patients with cancer and
infectious disease at a significant cost advantage.
About AgenTus Therapeutics, Inc. AgenTus
Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the
discovery, development, and commercialization of breakthrough
unmodified and modified allogeneic iNKT cells 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 and the expected benefits
to be observed in these trials and with these cell therapy
treatments generally. 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. Caroline Bafundo
212-994-8209 Caroline.Bafundo@agenusbio.com
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