FREMONT, Calif., May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Abgenix, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABGX)
announced today that it has entered into a collaboration and license agreement
with Abbott Laboratories' (NYSE: ABT) Hospital Products Division. Abgenix will
use its XenoMouse technology to generate fully human antibodies to several
disease targets for Abbott. Under terms of the agreement, Abgenix could
receive research, license fee and milestone payments, plus royalty payments on
future product sales by Abbott. Abbott will be responsible for manufacturing,
product development and marketing of any products developed through the
collaboration.
"Our collaboration with Abbott is further evidence of the growing interest
by large health care companies in generating antibody product candidates using
XenoMouse technology," stated R. Scott Greer, president and chief executive
officer of Abgenix. "Abbott becomes our twentieth XenoMouse partner, the
eighth in the last four months."
Antibodies are immune system proteins in the body that can combat many
diseases. As therapeutic products, monoclonal antibodies have several
potential advantages over other therapies. The highly specific interaction
between an antibody and its target may, for example, reduce unwanted side
effects that plague other therapies. In addition, human monoclonal antibodies
may persist in patients for several weeks as compared to hours or days for
traditional pharmaceuticals. Fully human monoclonal antibodies are desirable
because they avoid the risk of rejection present with mouse or part mouse
monoclonal antibodies.
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 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, genomics 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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CONTACT:
Kurt Leutzinger, Chief Financial Officer of
Abgenix, Inc., 510-608-6575
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