Agenus Closes $200M Upfront BMS Collaboration and Announces FDA Acceptance of IND for Partnered Anti-TIGIT Bispecific Antibod...
July 06 2021 - 8:30AM
Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology company with an
extensive pipeline of agents which includes checkpoint antibodies,
cell therapies, adjuvants, and vaccines designed to activate immune
response to cancers and infections, today announced the closing of
its global exclusive license with Bristol Myers Squibb for Agenus’
proprietary bispecific antibody program, AGEN1777, and the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of an Investigational
New Drug (IND) application for this therapy. AGEN1777 is an
Fc-enhanced antibody in late preclinical development designed to
target major inhibitory receptors expressed on T and NK cells to
improve anti-tumor activity.
“TIGIT is becoming an increasingly important immunotherapy
target, and the Fc-enhanced and bispecific design of AGEN1777 could
offer improved benefit, including the potential for both
single-agent and combination activity,” said Garo Armen, PhD, Chief
Executive Officer of Agenus. “Together with our partner Bristol
Myers Squibb, we look forward to advancing this agent into clinical
studies with the goal of providing a meaningful new option for
cancer patients.”
Bristol Myers Squibb intends to advance the research and
development of AGEN1777 in immuno-oncology for high priority tumor
indications including non-small cell lung cancer.
Phase 1 dosing for AGEN1777 is expected to begin during the
third quarter of 2021. This dose escalation study is designed to
evaluate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary clinical
activity of AGEN1777 as a single agent and in combination with a
PD-1 inhibitor in patients with advanced solid tumors.
Under the terms of the agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb,
Agenus receives a $200 million upfront payment in connection with
the closing. The agreement also includes up to $1.36 billion in
development, regulatory and commercial milestones in addition to
tiered double-digit royalties on net product sales. Bristol Myers
Squibb will become solely responsible for the development and any
subsequent commercialization of AGEN1777 and its related products
worldwide. Agenus will retain options to conduct clinical studies
under the development plan, to conduct combination studies with
certain other Agenus pipeline assets, and also, upon
commercialization, to co-promote AGEN1777 in the US.
About AGEN1777AGEN1777 is a potentially
first-in-class bispecific anti-TIGIT antibody engineered with an
enhanced Fc region for high binding affinity and improved T and NK
cell activation.
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.
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 AGEN1777 and its future clinical trials,
potential clinical benefit, and future product development plans
for AGEN1777 alone and in combination with other agents together
with statements regarding Agenus’ potential to receive future
milestones and royalties pursuant to the BMS license agreement.
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.
ContactAgenus Investor
RelationsJan Medina,
CFAAgenus781-674-4490Jan.Medina@agenusbio.com
Agenus Media RelationsKimberly
HaKKH Advisors917-291-5744kimberly.ha@kkhadvisors.com
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