Chicago, IL 3/7/12 (StreetBeat) -- Agenus Inc. (Nasdaq:AGEN) announced today that GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) and Agenus have amended the QS-21 license and manufacturing agreement to include additional rights for the use of Agenus' proprietary QS-21 Stimulon(R)* adjuvant in GSK Biologicals' adjuvant systems. In addition, Agenus has agreed to grant the vaccines company the first right to negotiate for the purchase of Agenus or certain of its assets. The first right to negotiate will expire after five years.Under the terms of the agreement, GSK will pay Agenus a non-refundable payment of $9 million, of which $2.5 million is creditable against future manufacturing technology transfer royalty payments. The agreement also includes royalty payments for an undisclosed indication upon commercialization of a vaccine product.
"Today's announcement further validates QS-21 as a key adjuvant while expanding its potential use in another important indication," stated Garo Armen, Ph.D., chairman and CEO of Agenus. "With over a dozen clinical programs in development containing our adjuvant, we are pleased to be able to contribute to the future development of a broad range of vaccines."
Saponin Platform: QS-21 Stimulon(R)Adjuvant
QS-21 Stimulon(R) adjuvant is designed to strengthen the body's immune response to a vaccine's antigen, thus making it more effective. QS-21 has become a critical component in the development of investigational preventive vaccine formulations across a wide variety of investigational prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines. Licensees of QS-21 include GSK, Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy, and Integrated Biotherapeutics. Agenus is generally entitled to receive milestone payments as QS-21-containing programs advance as well as royalties on sales of products.
Data from Phase 3 pivotal trials of four GSK vaccine candidates, which include MAGE-A3 Cancer immunotherapeutic (CI) for selected patients with non-small cell lung cancer, and melanoma, RTS,S for malaria, and Herpes Zoster for shingles, are anticipated to be released over the next year or so.
Between Agenus and its partners, 18 programs are in clinical development, including many programs that contain QS-21 Stimulon adjuvant. QS-21 is being studied in clinical trials for 15 vaccine programs. They include:
Phase 3: GSK's RTS,S for malaria**
Phase 3: GSK's MAGE-A3 CI for selected patients with resected melanoma**
Phase 3: GSK's MAGE-A3 CI for selected patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer**
Phase 3: GSK's Herpes Zoster for shingles**
Phase 2: Janssen's*** ACC-001 for Alzheimer's disease
Agenus' pipeline programs include:
Phase 2: Prophage Series G-100 for newly diagnosed glioma
Phase 2: Prophage Series G-200 for recurrent glioma
Phase 2-Ready: HerpV (contains QS-21) for genital herpes
About Agenus
Agenus Inc. is a biotechnology company working to develop treatments for cancers and infectious diseases. The company is focused on immunotherapeutic products based on strong platform technologies with multiple product candidates advancing through the clinic, including several product candidates that have advanced into late-stage clinical trials through corporate partners.
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