Und schon mal ewieder ein lockerer Verdoppler:
Gliatech ( WKN
899190 ) +132%
Die Meldung:
Abgenix Licenses From Gliatech Antibody Product Candidates for Cardiovascular and
Inflammatory Diseases; IND Planned for 2002
FREMONT, Calif. & CLEVELAND, Nov 2, 2001 (BW HealthWire) -- Abgenix, Inc.
(Nasdaq: ABGX) and Gliatech Inc. (Nasdaq: GLIA) today announced an agreement that
provides Abgenix with exclusive worldwide rights to human monoclonal antibody
therapies against the complement protein properdin as potential treatments for
cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. Abgenix has generated lead antibody
product candidates for Gliatech under a January 2000 collaboration and will now
assume responsibility for development and commercialization. Abgenix anticipates
filing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the FDA for an
anti-properdin antibody product candidate next year.
Under the terms of the agreement, Abgenix obtains an exclusive license to
develop and commercialize anti-properdin antibody therapies for all indications
and will be responsible for clinical development, regulatory activities,
manufacturing, marketing and sales. Gliatech will receive from Abgenix an
upfront license fee of $1.5 million, a commitment for a future equity
investment, potential milestone payments for multiple clinical indications,
research funding for two years and royalties on net sales of any resulting
products. Collectively, these non-royalty payments could reach approximately $40
million over the term of the contract if a product is successfully
commercialized.
"An anti-properdin antibody represents a promising approach to the treatment of
acute inflammatory conditions which result, for example, from cardiopulmonary
bypass surgery, heart attacks and stroke," said R. Scott Greer, chairman and
chief executive officer of Abgenix. "Gliatech has done a great deal of
pre-clinical work in this field and has generated an important intellectual
property position. We are excited to move toward clinical development of the
first product candidate."
"Our collaborative work with Abgenix over the past two years has led to the
identification of promising clinical candidate antibodies," said Steven L.
Basta, president of Gliatech. "We have worked closely in this collaboration, and
the XenoMouse(R) technology of Abgenix has been an important tool to create
antibodies targeted at the properdin antigen that our research team identified
in the inflammatory pathway. We are pleased that Abgenix has chosen this
antibody among its portfolio of opportunities to move toward commercialization."
Gliatech has been involved in properdin research and its role in modulating
inflammatory response for several years and recently received notice of
allowance on its patent covering the antigen as a therapeutic target for
inflammatory diseases. Agents which block properdin function may play a unique
role in modulating the alternative complement pathway in a manner that avoids
broad based immune suppression.
Properdin is a protein of the alternative complement pathway, which is a
component of the normal host immune system. When the complement pathway is
inappropriately triggered, tissue damage may result. Such is the case with acute
damage, for example from stimulation of the complement pathway by
cardiopulmonary bypass surgery. Shutting down this inappropriate response may
thus provide an important anti-inflammatory therapy for patients undergoing such
procedures. In chronic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system
aberrantly recognizes the patient's own tissue and mounts an autoimmune
response. Activation of the complement pathway in such a disease is thought to
propagate this attack. An anti-properdin antibody may inhibit this cascade and
thus limit tissue damage.
In January 2000, Abgenix and Gliatech established a research collaboration to
generate fully human antibodies against properdin using Abgenix's XenoMouse(R)
technology. The companies have discovered monoclonal antibodies to properdin
that are in vitro and ex vivo inhibitors of the complement alternative pathway.
By selectively blocking the alternative pathway, the negative consequences of
inappropriate complement activation can be attenuated without inhibiting other
key elements of the normal host immune defense. In pre-clinical models,
anti-properdin antibodies reduced damage to heart tissue in models of reduced
blood flow and effectively blocked complement activation in models of
cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.
Abgenix is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and
commercialization of human monoclonal antibody therapies for a variety of
diseases. The company's antibody technology platform, which includes
XenoMouse(R) and XenoMax(TM) technologies, enables the rapid generation and
selection of high affinity, fully human antibody product candidates to disease
targets appropriate for antibody therapy. Abgenix leverages its leadership
position in human antibody technology by building a large and diversified
product portfolio through the establishment of licensing arrangements with
multiple pharmaceutical, biotechnology and genomics companies and through the
development of its own internal proprietary products. For more information on
Abgenix, visit the company's website at www.abgenix.com.
Gliatech Inc. is engaged in the discovery and development of biosurgery and
pharmaceutical products. The biosurgery products include ADCON(R)-L and
ADCON(R)-T/N and ADCON(R) Solution, which are proprietary, resorbable,
carbohydrate polymer medical devices designed to inhibit scarring and adhesions
following surgery. Gliatech's pharmaceutical product candidates include small
molecule drugs to modulate the cognitive state of the nervous system and
proprietary monoclonal antibodies designed to inhibit inflammation.
For Abgenix: Statements made in this press release about Abgenix's technologies,
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.
For Gliatech: Certain statements in this press release constitute
"forward-looking statements" that are subject to risks and uncertainties which
may cause the actual results of the Company to be different from expectations
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include,
but are not limited to, uncertainty of market acceptance of the Company's
products, the uncertainty of the continued development of monoclonal antibodies
and other risk factors detailed in the Company's SEC filings.
MfG
Star Ikone
