Epimmune and Merck Enter Into Agreement
SAN DIEGO, May 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Epimmune Inc. (Nasdaq: EPMN - News), today announced that it had entered into an Agreement with Merck & Co., Inc. under which Merck will evaluate select Epimmune epitopes in connection with technology controlled by Merck for the development of certain vaccines.
Under the terms of the Agreement, Epimmune will provide Merck a limited number of its proprietary analog, or modified epitopes which will then be evaluated in connection with delivery technologies owned or controlled by Merck to determine the activity of the Epimmune epitopes. Epimmune received an evaluation license fee in connection with the Agreement. Merck will have an option to enter into licensing discussions with Epimmune for the development of the Epimmune epitopes for use in vaccines for the treatment of certain diseases.
About Epimmune Inc.
Epimmune Inc., based in San Diego, is focused on the development of pharmaceutical products using multiple epitopes to specifically activate the body's immune system. Epitopes, critical signaling molecules, stimulate the T cell arm of the immune system to respond to specific regions of cancer cells or infectious agents. By combining multiple, selected epitopes into a single drug candidate, the immune response can be both targeted and optimized for strength. Epimmune's therapeutic drug candidates have been designed to treat disease by stimulating the body's immune system to respond aggressively to infections, such as HIV, hepatitis C virus and hepatitis B virus, and tumors such as breast, colon, lung and prostate. Epimmune's preventative drug candidates have been designed to protect against disease by teaching the body's immune system to react quickly when exposed to infectious agents. Epimmune's technology can also be used to identify and potentially eliminate undesirable reactions to therapeutic drugs or consumer products by modifying specific epitopes to suppress the unwanted immune response. In addition, Epimmune previously announced that it has preliminarily agreed to merge its operations with Anosys, Inc. to create a combined company focused on the field of immunotherapeutics and products for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. The all-stock transaction is subject to the parties entering into a definitive merger agreement, approval by the shareholders of both companies, obtaining commitments for capital resources to fund the combined company's operations and various other conditions that must be satisfied prior to closing the merger. For more information on Epimmune, visit www.epimmune.com. |
