An Agenus-discovered first-in-class ILT4 antibody, MK-4830, enters Phase 2
November 10 2020 - 8:45AM
Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology company with an
extensive pipeline of checkpoint antibodies, cell therapies,
adjuvants, and vaccines designed to activate immune response to
cancers and infections, today announced that a milestone payment of
$10M from Merck has been triggered with the advancement of an ILT4
antibody, MK-4830, into a Phase 2 clinical trial. Agenus discovered
this novel checkpoint antibody, designed to target
immune-suppressive myeloid cells in the tumor microenvironment for
the treatment of advanced solid tumors, and licensed the molecule
to Merck.
“Novel myeloid cell targeting antibodies have the potential to
treat patients who currently do not benefit from primary checkpoint
antibodies,” said Garo Armen, Chairman and CEO of Agenus. “We are
excited about the progress of MK-4830 and look forward to
delivering our own wholly-owned novel myeloid tuning agent to the
clinic next year.”
Merck is evaluating MK-4830 in combination with KEYTRUDA®
(pembrolizumab) in a Phase 2 study in patients with PD-L1 positive
advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NCT04165083) with data
presented at ESMO earlier this year:
https://www.merck.com/news/merck-presents-promising-new-data-for-three-investigational-medicines-from-diverse-and-expansive-oncology-pipeline-at-esmo-virtual-congress-2020/
Under the terms of the agreement, Merck is responsible for all
product development expenses for MK-4830 and Agenus is eligible to
receive up to $85 million in additional potential milestone
payments, as well as royalties on worldwide product sales. Under
its Royalty Purchase Agreement with XOMA LLC, Agenus retains 90% of
all milestones from Merck and 67% of future royalties.
About AgenusAgenus 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.
About MK-4830MK-4830 is a novel antibody
directed against the inhibitory immune checkpoint receptor
immunoglobulin-like transcript 4 (ILT4). Blocking ILT4 is a novel
approach from current T-cell-targeted antibodies (e.g. anti-PD1,
anti-CTLA-4) by relieving immunosuppression of tolerogenic myeloid
cells in the tumor microenvironment. Merck is conducting a Phase 1
study of MK-4830 as a monotherapy and in combination with
pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors
(NCT03564691).
Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release
contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the
safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws, including
statements regarding additional potential milestone payments from
Merck, potential royalties from Merck, the therapeutic potential of
myeloid cell targeting antibodies, and Agenus’ expectation to
advance an additional program into the clinic next year. 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
Bafundo212-994-8209Caroline.Bafundo@agenusbio.com
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