Collaboration May Now Cover Five Antibody Product Candidates
FREMONT, Calif., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Abgenix, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABGX)
announced today the inclusion of up to two additional antigen targets under a
two-year extension of its human antibody collaboration with Pfizer, Inc.
(NYSE: PFE), raising the possible total product candidates to five.
Under the extended agreement, Abgenix will use its XenoMouse(TM)
technology to generate fully human antibodies to two antigen targets named by
Pfizer. As with the first three product candidates, Pfizer will be
responsible for product development, manufacturing and marketing of any
products developed through the collaboration. Under the new agreement,
Abgenix will receive a fee to extend the agreement and could receive potential
research, license fee and milestone payments plus royalties on product sales.
"We have had a very fruitful collaboration with Pfizer and are pleased
with the company's desire to expand our existing agreement to cover up to five
product candidates," stated R. Scott Greer, president and chief executive
officer of Abgenix. "This commitment by Pfizer is representative of the
growing enthusiasm for antibody products among major pharmaceutical
companies."
The December 1997 agreement between Abgenix and Pfizer provided Pfizer
with the option to license XenoMouse technology for up to three antigen
targets. As part of this arrangement, Pfizer made an equity investment in
Abgenix. Pfizer exercised its first option immediately, and its second option
in October 1998. In November 1999, Pfizer exercised its option on the last of
these initial antigen targets. All of the product candidates selected to date
are in the oncology field.
Abgenix is a biopharmaceutical company that develops and intends to
commercialize antibody therapies for the treatment of such conditions as
transplant-related diseases, inflammatory and autoimmune disorders,
cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, and cancer. For more information
on Abgenix, visit the company's Web site at http://www.abgenix.com.
Abgenix developed XenoMouse(TM) technology to enable the rapid generation
of high affinity, fully human antibody product candidates to essentially any
disease target appropriate for antibody therapy. Abgenix has collaborative
arrangements with multiple pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies
involving its XenoMouse technology. In addition, Abgenix has multiple
proprietary antibody product candidates under development internally, three of
which are in human clinical trials for graft-versus-host disease, psoriasis,
rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer.
Statements made in this press release about Abgenix's XenoMouse
technology, product development activities and collaborative arrangements
other than statements of historical fact, are forward looking statements and
are subject to a number of uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from the statements made, including risks associated with
the success of clinical trials, the progress of research and product
development programs, the regulatory approval process, competitive products,
future capital requirements and the extent and breadth of Abgenix's patent
portfolio. Please see Abgenix's public filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission for information about risks that may affect Abgenix.
SOURCE Abgenix, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.abgenix.com
CONTACT:
Kurt Leutzinger, Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer of Abgenix Inc., 510-608-6575
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