Bayer Schering Pharma Signs Antibody Licensing Agreement
January 12 2009 - 8:24AM
Dow Jones News
Bayer AG's (BAY.XE) pharmaceuticals business Bayer Schering
Pharma AG said Monday it has acquired an exclusive option for a
collaboration and licensing agreement with Micromet, Inc., a
biopharmaceutical company developing antibodies for the treatment
of cancer, inflammation and autoimmune diseases.
Bayer Schering Pharma will pay Micromet a EUR4.5 million fee to
secure a one-year option on a specific BiTE antibody.
Exercising this option prior to Jan. 5, 2010 through an
additional payment would trigger a joint collaboration on the
development of the BiTE antibody against a solid tumor target
through the completion of Phase I clinical trials, at which point
Bayer Schering Pharma would assume full control of the further
development and commercialization of the antibody. Micromet would
be eligible for an option exercise fee and milestone payments of up
to EUR290 million in total and up to double-digit royalties based
on tiered net sales of the product.
"Oncology is one of our core growth areas and biologicals are a
key focus of our strategy. We are excited about Micromet's BiTE
antibody technology and believe BiTE antibodies represent a novel
and promising approach to cancer therapy," said Andreas Busch,
Member of the Board of Management of Bayer Schering Pharma AG
responsible for Global Drug Discovery.
"We are very pleased with Bayer's interest in this preclinical
BiTE antibody program and their financial commitment to secure
exclusive access for the next 12 months. This deal represents
further validation of BiTE antibody technology by a major oncology
company," said Christian Itin, Micromet's Chief Executive
Officer.
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