Agenus Milestone Triggers $7.5M Payment
PRNewswire 8-Aug-2019 7:30 AM
LEXINGTON, Mass., Aug. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ:AGEN), an immuno-oncology (I-O) company with a pipeline of immune checkpoint antibodies, adoptive cell therapies1 and cancer vaccines, announced today that the FDA has accepted the company's IND filing for AGEN2373, a milestone in its partnership with Gilead Sciences, Inc. This milestone triggers a cash payment of $7.5M. Agenus is eligible to receive additional milestone payments this year and beyond.
"This IND clearance underscores our continued commitment to delivering novel and best-in-class therapies to patients with cancer with the utmost urgency," said Garo H. Armen, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Agenus. "AGEN2373 has unique binding properties and is designed to mitigate the toxicity observed with competitor molecules; we believe that this molecule has great potential for patients with cancer."
The collaboration between the two companies was announced in December 2018. Under the terms of the agreement, Agenus received $150 million in upfront cash payment and equity investment and is eligible for approximately $1.7 billion in future fees and milestones.
AGEN2373 is an investigational agent that has not been approved for any uses. Efficacy and safety have not been established.
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 with combination approaches that leverage a broad repertoire of antibody therapeutics, adoptive cell therapies (through its AgenTus Therapeutics subsidiary) and its proprietary cancer vaccine platforms. Agenus has 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.
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 the potential benefits of AGEN2373, as well as future potential royalty and milestone payments from Gilead. 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 S. Buell, PhD 781-674-4420
jennifer.buell@agenusbio.com
1Through AgenTus Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Agenus
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SOURCE Agenus Inc.
