LEXINGTON, Mass., June 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Agenus
Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology company with a pipeline of
immune checkpoint antibodies, cancer vaccines, and adoptive cell
therapies1, today presented updated clinical data on its
lead CTLA-4 and PD-1 programs at the 2018 American Society of
Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, in Chicago. Agenus
is expanding beyond these backbone I-O compounds with 6 planned
INDs in 2018 and 2 additional INDs in 1H2019.
Over 100 patients with advanced refractory cancer received
CTLA-4 (AGEN1884) and/or PD-1 (AGEN2034). Clinical benefit was
observed in 31% and 42% of evaluable patients, respectively.
Both antibodies were well tolerated with prolonged exposure and the
recommended dose was selected for the ongoing phase 2 trial of
combination AGEN1884 (1mg/kg) and AGEN2034 (3mg/kg) in 2L cervical
cancer. The pharmacology and half-life of AGEN1884 and AGEN2034 are
comparable to commercially available CTLA-4 and PD-1.
"CTLA-4 and PD-1 are backbone I-O therapies, critical drivers of
efficacy in combination with each other and standard of care
treatments. Our CTLA-4 (of the same IgG1 subclass as Yervoy®)
PD-1 are the most advanced clinical stage combination," said
Garo Armen, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO
of Agenus. "Expanding from here, we are on track to file 6
INDs this year which includes bispecific antibodies that modify the
tumor microenvironment to make tumors more susceptible to immune
attack. These next gen compounds are amongst the most desirable
approaches and we have at least two compounds with these properties
as well as a next generation CTLA-4 (AGEN1181), designed to enhance
T cell priming."
ASCO posters are available on the Company's website
at http://agenusbio.com/technology/publications/.
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 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 early phase
clinical programs. Agenus is headquartered in Lexington,
MA. 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 Agenus' planned
clinical development and regulatory plans and timelines for IND
submissions. 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
2Clinical benefit is defined as partial responses,
complete responses, disease stabilization; observed in 5 of 16
evaluable patients for CTLA-4 and 13 of 31 evaluable patients for
PD-1
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SOURCE Agenus Inc.