BioWa and Medarex Announce Expansion of Licensing Agreement for BioWa's Potelligent(TM) Technology
Princeton, New Jersey (ots/PRNewswire)
- BioWa Grants the Second Potelligent(TM) Antibody Technology License to Medarex
BioWa, Inc. and Medarex, Inc. (Nasdaq: MEDX) today announced that BioWa has granted a second license to Medarex to use BioWa's Potelligent(TM) Technology for the enhancement of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Medarex plans to use the Potelligent Technology to enhance the ADCC function of selected Medarex antibodies for potential therapeutic applications, including cancer. The agreement provides Medarex with nonexclusive commercial rights to develop antibodies for an undisclosed number of targets. In return, BioWa will receive license fees, and could receive milestone payments and royalties on products developed by Medarex. Detailed licensing terms/financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are very pleased to announce the expansion of our relationship with Medarex, and to have Potelligent Technology combined with Medarex's human antibody technology and pipeline of therapeutic products," said Dr. Nobuo Hanai, President and CEO of BioWa. "We believe this second license agreement supports the use of our Potelligent Technology as a method for enhancement of ADCC and its ability to deliver more highly potent antibodies for more effective clinical response. We believe that working with Medarex, a leading human therapeutic antibody company, is key to advancing the goals of BioWa to bring about safe and more effective treatments for cancer and other life-threatening and debilitating diseases."
"We are very excited about the promise of utilizing the Potelligent Technology for the generation of potentially more efficacious antibodies," said Donald L. Drakeman, President and CEO of Medarex.
About Potelligent Technology
Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) activity is an important function of the human immune system, whereby immune cells can kill target cells, e.g. cancer cells. ADCC activity is one mechanism of some already launched anticancer therapeutic antibodies on the market today. Enhancement of this activity is in the spotlight as one promising possibility for the next generation of antibody technology.
Potelligent(TM) Technology involves the reduction of the amount of fucose in the carbohydrate structure of an antibody. Research shows that Potelligent(TM) Technology significantly enhances binding affinity of antibodies for Fc receptors and increases ADCC activity in vitro. One potential benefit of Potelligent(TM) derived therapeutic antibodies is greater tumor cell killing activity than with conventional antibodies.
About BioWa
BioWa is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co, Ltd., Japan's leading pharmaceutical and largest biotech company. BioWa is the exclusive worldwide licensor of Potelligent(TM) Technology. Potelligent(TM) Technology creates high antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) monoclonal antibodies. ADCC is a critical function of the immune system that enhances the ability of antibodies to kill tumor cells. The enhancement of ADCC is seen up to 100 fold in vitro. BioWa is currently developing ADCC enhanced monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics to fight cancer and other life-threatening and debilitating diseases and both BioWa and Kyowa have Potelligent(TM) antibody products in various clinical stages. BioWa creates and develops enhanced ADCC antibodies for itself and others, offering a full range of antibody discovery and development capabilities. For more information about BioWa visit its web site at http://www.biowa.com.
About Medarex, Inc.
Medarex is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and potential commercialization of fully human antibody-based therapeutics to treat life-threatening and debilitating diseases, including cancer, inflammation, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases. Medarex applies its UltiMAb(R) technology and product development and clinical manufacturing experience to generate, support and potentially commercialize a broad range of fully human antibody product candidates for itself and its partners. Twenty-three of these therapeutic product candidates derived from Medarex technology are currently in human clinical testing, with two of the most advanced product candidates presently in Phase III clinical trials. Medarex is committed to building value by developing a diverse pipeline of antibody products to address the world's unmet healthcare needs. For more information about Medarex, visit its website at http://www.medarex.com.
For Medarex: Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed herein may constitute forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements preceded by, followed by, or that include the words "potential"; "believe"; "anticipate"; "intend"; "plan"; "expect"; "estimate"; "could"; "may"; or similar statements are forward-looking statements. Medarex disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include risks associated with product discovery and development, uncertainties related to the outcome of clinical trials, uncertainties related to product manufacturing as well as risks detailed from time to time in Medarex's public disclosure filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. There can be no assurance that such development efforts will succeed or that other developed products will receive required regulatory clearance or that, even if such regulatory clearance were received, such products would ultimately achieve commercial success. Copies of Medarex's public disclosure filings are available from its investor relations department.
Potelligent(TM) is the trademark of Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd.; Medarex(R), the Medarex logo and UltiMAb(R) and are trademarks of Medarex, Inc. All rights are reserved.
Web site: http://www.biowa.com
Contact:
Medarex, Inc.: Laura S. Choi, Investor Relations, +1-609-430-2880,
x2216, or Jean Mantuano, Corporate Communications (media),
+1-609-430-2880, x2221; or BioWa, Inc.: Nobuo Hanai, Ph.D., President
and CEO, +1-609-580-7500, x7501, or Martina Molsbergen, Senior
Director, Business Development, +1-609-580-7500, x7506