LEXINGTON, Mass., Sept. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Agenus Inc.
(NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology (I-O) company with a pipeline of
immune checkpoint antibodies, cancer vaccines and adoptive cell
therapies1, announced today receipt of a
cash milestone from Incyte for the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical
trial of INCAGN2385, an anti-LAG-3 antibody discovered by Agenus.
Based on this milestone and under the terms of the agreement,
Agenus received a $5 million payment
and is eligible to receive up to an additional $505 million in potential development, regulatory
and commercial milestones from Incyte.
"This is the fourth antibody from our partnered programs that
has advanced into clinical trials, once again proving our
commitment to deliver on our existing partnerships," said
Garo H. Armen, Ph.D., Chairman and
CEO of Agenus. "In addition to this milestone, INCAGN2390
(anti-TIM-3) is expected to enter the clinic later this year, which
would trigger an additional milestone payment to Agenus."
This collaboration was originally announced in January 2015, and amended in February 2017. According to the terms of the
agreement, Incyte has exclusive rights to fund and conduct global
development and commercialization of four disclosed antibody
candidates, LAG-3, TIM-3, GITR and OX40, and one undisclosed
candidate discovered through the Agenus and Incyte collaboration,
for which Agenus is eligible to receive milestone and royalty
payments.
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, proprietary cancer vaccine platforms, and
adoptive cell therapies (through its AgenTus Therapeutics
subsidiary). 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 early phase 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 clinical
development plans and timelines of Agenus and its partners, as well
as future potential royalty and milestone payments from
Incyte. 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
1Through AgenTus Therapeutics, a
subsidiary of Agenus
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/agenus-receives-milestone-payment-from-incyte-300713488.html
SOURCE Agenus Inc.