LEXINGTON, Mass., Jan. 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ:
AGEN), an immuno-oncology (I-O) company with a pipeline of immune
modulating antibodies, cancer vaccines, adjuvants and adoptive cell
therapies1, announced today that the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation awarded it a grant of ~$1M to develop an
alternative, plant cell culture-based manufacturing process to
ensure the continuous future supply of Agenus' proprietary QS-21
Stimulon® adjuvant, a key component of multiple
vaccines targeting infectious and endemic diseases.
Agenus' QS-21 Stimulon® is a proprietary adjuvant,
currently incorporated as part of Glaxo Smith Kline's (GSK's)
highly efficacious Shingrix® vaccine. Additionally,
Agenus' QS-21 Stimulon® is used in GSK's Mosquirix
vaccine and numerous other clinical-stage vaccines, including
Agenus' own cancer vaccines. Given the criticality of QS-21 in
making vaccines efficacious, Agenus plans to develop a cell-culture
based, environment friendly manufacturing technique as an
alternative future supply. QS-21 is currently extracted from
Chilean soap bark trees, exclusively sourced from a localized area
in Chile.
"We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation in our efforts to revolutionize the
way we produce QS-21," said Dr. Garo
Armen, Chairman and CEO of Agenus. "The Gates Foundation has
recognized the value of consistent supply of high-quality QS-21 to
power vaccines. We appreciate their commitment to bringing
innovation to drive access to important therapies."
The alternative manufacturing process for QS-21 will be
developed in an exclusive partnership with Phyton
Biotech2, a company with extensive experience developing
and applying green chemistry solutions for the production of
high-value phytochemicals. Leveraging its Plant Cell Fermentation
(PCF®) technology, Phyton Biotech will attempt to demonstrate that
PCF® is a feasible model for the consistent, large-scale and
low-cost commercial production of high-quality QS-21 directly from
plant cell cultures.
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.
About Phyton Biotech
Phyton Biotech, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DFB
Pharmaceuticals, is the global leader in Plant Cell Fermentation
(PCF®) Technology, offering comprehensive services for the
development and commercialization of plant-based molecules,
extracts and recombinant products, serving the pharmaceutical,
Chinese Traditional Medicine, cosmetic, agricultural and food
ingredient industries. Using PCF®, Phyton Biotech offers a time,
risk and cost-balanced path to commercially viable production
processes, overcoming limitations often experienced with
traditional plant extraction and chemical synthesis. As a
biotechnology leader with certified GMP facilities in Germany and Canada, Phyton Biotech has a successful track
record of developing and implementing innovative contract
development solutions for clients around the world. The company is
globally recognized for revolutionizing the manufacturing process
for Paclitaxel from plant cell cultures using PCF®. Phyton Biotech
is now the world's largest producer of Paclitaxel and Docetaxel via
PCF®, with the capacity to meet more than one-third of the global
demand for these critical active pharmaceutical ingredients. More
info: phytonbiotech.com.
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 Agenus' plans to
develop a cell-culture based, environment friendly manufacturing
technique as an alternative method to produce QS-21 in partnership
with Phyton and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 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.
Contacts:
Agenus Inc.
Jennifer Buell, PhD
781-674-4420
Jennifer.Buell@agenusbio.com
Phyton Biotech
Alex Russell
604-562-9262
alex@russellstrategy.com
1 Through AgenTus Therapeutics, a subsidiary of
Agenus
2 Phyton Biotech will receive funding directly from
Agenus to perform these services.
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SOURCE Agenus