Agenus Announces Lead Product Candidate Selection in its Collaboration with Merck
June 09 2016 - 8:50AM
Business Wire
Received First Milestone Payment of $2
Million
Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology company
developing antibodies including checkpoint inhibitors and other
checkpoint modulators (CPMs) and cancer vaccines, today announced
the selection of a lead product candidate under its license and
research collaboration with Merck. Merck, known as MSD outside the
United States and Canada, has selected a lead antibody candidate
and several backup antibodies, discovered by Agenus, to an
undisclosed Merck checkpoint target. Based on this milestone and
under the terms of the agreement, Agenus received a $2 million
milestone payment from Merck.
As previously announced, Merck will be responsible for all
future product development expenses for the selected antibody
candidate and Agenus is eligible to receive up to $100 million in
milestone payments, as well as royalties on worldwide product
sales.
“We are pleased that in collaboration with Merck scientists, our
research team has successfully identified antibody candidates to
advance into preclinical studies,” said Garo H. Armen, Ph.D.,
Chairman and CEO of Agenus. “This is an important validation of our
discovery platform and expertise and adds to our successes in
discovering antibodies for a broad range of targets, including
challenging ones.”
“Our integrated monoclonal antibody discovery platforms have
successfully identified unique antibodies for a wide range of
therapeutic targets,” said Robert B. Stein, M.D., Ph.D., Agenus’
President, Research & Development. “This discovery engine
provides Agenus the opportunity to bring innovative single-agent
and combination immuno-oncology therapies to patients whose cancers
are not adequately treated with current approaches.”
About Agenus
Agenus is an immuno-oncology company focused on the discovery
and development of revolutionary new treatments that engage the
body’s immune system to benefit patients suffering from cancer. By
combining multiple powerful platforms, Agenus has established a
highly integrated approach for the discovery, development and
manufacture of monoclonal antibodies that modulate targets of
interest. In addition, the Company’s cancer vaccine program
includes three proprietary platforms focused on individualized and
off-the-shelf vaccines uniquely designed for each patient. Agenus’
broad portfolio of novel checkpoint and other immuno-modulatory
monoclonal antibodies, vaccines and adjuvants, work in combination
to provide the opportunity to create best-in-class therapeutic
regimens. The Company has formed collaborations with Merck and
Incyte to discover and develop multiple checkpoint antibodies. For
more information, please visit www.agenusbio.com; information that
may be important to investors will be routinely posted on our
website.
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 development and
clinical trial plans for both Agenus and Merck and potential
milestone and royalty payments. 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.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160609005091/en/
Agenus Inc.Michelle Linn,
781-674-4541michelle.linn@agenusbio.comorMedia:BMC
CommunicationsBrad Miles,
646-513-3125bmiles@bmccommunications.com
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