Aphton Announces Mutual Agreement to Dissolve Co-Promotion and Licensing Agreement Related to Anti-Cancer Product Insegia(TM) wi
November 09 2005 - 5:56PM
Business Wire
Dissolution Allows for New Partnership Opportunities and Further
Development of Insegia in Gastric Cancer Aphton Corporation
(NASDAQ:APHT) announced today that it has entered into a mutual
decision and agreement to terminate the co-promotion and licensing
agreement with sanofi pasteur related to Aphton's lead
immunotherapy compound, Insegia(TM) (G17DT immunogen). The
agreements related to the co-promotion, licensing and supply of
Insegia will be terminated effective immediately. The original
agreements, signed in 1997, were related to the development,
manufacturing and co-promotion rights for all human cancer
applications of Insegia, including stomach, esophageal, colorectal,
and pancreatic cancers. Under the terms of the agreement, Aphton
was to be responsible for product development, clinical trials and
regulatory filings, and sanofi pasteur was to be responsible for
the promotion, advertising, marketing, distribution and sales of
Aphton's anti-gastrin vaccine in North America and Europe. In
addition, Aphton and sanofi pasteur had entered into agreements
providing for the supply of diphtheria toxoid, a key component of
Insegia. "By dissolving these agreements and regaining essentially
unencumbered worldwide rights to Insegia we are in a better
position to find a new corporate partner with the goal of
furthering the development of Insegia, specifically as a
therapeutic option for patients with gastric cancer. Up until this
point any discussions we have had with potential partners have been
limited," commented Patrick Mooney, MD, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Aphton. "We continue to be encouraged by the
survival data seen in patients who did achieve an antibody response
in our clinical trials with Insegia. We believe that this data
combined with a much broader licensing opportunity will draw
significant interest from potential partners." Additional details
related to the dissolution of the co-promotion and licensing
agreement will be contained in Aphton's Form 8-K, filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company will be holding a
conference call on Thursday, November 10, 2005 at 9:00 a.m. ET to
discuss the mutual dissolution of the co-promotion and licensing
agreement as well as other items related to the Company. A live
audio webcast of the conference call can be accessed either by
telephone at: Toll Free in the US/Canada at 1-800-322-0079; Code
Aphton Corporation Outside the U.S. at 1-973-409-9258; Code Aphton
Corporation Or via the internet at
http://viavid.net/dce.aspx?sid=00002AC7. A replay of the
presentation will be available via the website and will begin
approximately 2 hours after the conference call has concluded and
will be available for 14 days. About Aphton Aphton Corporation,
headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a clinical stage
biopharmaceutical company focused on developing targeted
immunotherapies for cancer. Aphton's products seek to empower the
body's own immune system to fight disease. Through the acquisition
of Igeneon AG in March 2005, Aphton acquired late-stage products,
IGN101, a cancer vaccine designed to induce an immune response
against EpCAM-positive tumor cells, and IGN311, a fully humanized
antibody against the Lewis Y antigen. Aphton has strategic
alliances with Xoma for treating gastrointestinal and other
gastrin-sensitive cancers using anti-gastrin monoclonal and other
antibodies; and with Daiichi Pure Chemicals for the development,
manufacturing and commercialization of gastrin-related diagnostic
kits. Aphton's most advanced product, Insegia(TM), targets the
hormone, gastrin 17, in an attempt to treat gastrointestinal
cancers. For more information about Aphton or its programs please
visit Aphton's website at www.aphton.com. Safe Harbor This press
release includes forward-looking statements, including statements
about: (1) the Company's belief that as a result of the dissolution
of its strategic alliance with sanofi pasteur, it is in a better
position to find a new corporate partner with the goal of further
developing Insegia, particularly in gastric cancer patients; (2)
the Company's belief that the dissolution of Insegia will result in
a broader licensing opportunity; (3) the Company's belief that the
activity demonstrated by Insegia, together with the broader
licensing opportunity, will enhance the Company's ability to find a
partner as enthusiastic as the Company to financially support the
further development of Insegia; (4) the Company's belief in gastrin
as a viable target in treating cancer; and (5) the Company's
expectation regarding the purpose and effectiveness of
fully-humanized monoclonal antibodies, IGN101 and IGN311, and its
cancer immunotherapy, Insegia. These forward-looking statements may
be affected by the risks and uncertainties inherent in the drug
development process and in Aphton's business. This information is
qualified in its entirety by cautionary statements and risk factor
disclosure contained in Aphton's Securities and Exchange Commission
filings, including Aphton's report on Form 10-K filed with the
Commission on March 16, 2005. Aphton wishes to caution readers that
certain important factors may have affected and could in the future
affect Aphton's beliefs and expectations and could cause the actual
results to differ materially from those expressed in any
forward-looking statement made by or on behalf of Aphton. These
risk factors include, but are not limited to: (1) Aphton's ability
to find a corporate partner who is as enthusiastic about Insegia as
the Company and who is capable of financially supporting the
further development of Insegia, particularly in gastric cancer
patients; (2) Aphton's ability to fund the further development of
its research and development program; (3) Aphton's ability to
successfully identify and consummate opportunities to broaden and
progress its research and development pipeline; (4) scientific
developments regarding immunotherapy; (5) Aphton's ability to
successfully integrate Igeneon's operations and product portfolio
with Aphton's operations and product portfolio; and (6) the actual
design, results and timing of preclinical and clinical studies for
both companies' products and product candidates.
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