The Immune Response Corporation Receives First $5 million Quarterly Payment from Agouron
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
PR Newswire, Monday, October 19, 1998 at 09:28
CARLSBAD, Calif., Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The Immune Response Corporation
(NASDAQ:IMNR) today announced the receipt of $5 million from Agouron
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGPH) in conjunction with their collaboration
to complete the development and commercialize REMUNE(TM), an immune-based
therapy currently under investigation, for the treatment of HIV infection.
The $5 million payment consisted of a $3 million payment for research and
development costs and a $2 million payment for the purchase of 126,758 shares
of unregistered common stock. The stock was purchased at a premium to the
market. This is the first in a series of quarterly payments Agouron is
expected to make, each consisting of a research and development payment and
the purchase of unregistered common stock.
Under the terms of the collaboration, Immune Response will manufacture
commercial supplies of REMUNE and Agouron will have exclusive rights to market
REMUNE in North America, Europe and certain other countries, after receipt of
regulatory approvals. Immune Response may receive as much as $77 million over
the next two years, including license and milestone payments of $45 million,
payments to support development of $18 million and the purchase of $14 million
of Immune Response common stock priced at premium to market, subject to
certain rights of termination by Agouron. Of the $77 million, Immune Response
initially received a $10 million license fee and Agouron has previously
purchased 118,256 shares of newly issued Immune Response common stock for
$2 million. In addition, the two companies will share all profits from the
commercialization of REMUNE on a 50/50 basis.
The Immune Response Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company based in
Carlsbad, California, developing immune-based therapies to induce specific
T cell responses for the treatment of HIV, autoimmune diseases and cancer.
The company is conducting clinical trials for its immune-based therapies for
HIV, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, colon cancer and
brain cancer and preclinical studies for melanoma and prostate cancers. In
addition, the company is developing a targeted delivery technology for gene
therapy which is designed to enable the intravenous injection of genes for
delivery directly to the liver. The company's gene therapy program is
currently focused on diseases of the liver and is in preclinical studies for
the treatment of hemophilia and hepatitis.
Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an integrated pharmaceutical company
committed to the discovery, development, manufacturing, and marketing of
innovative therapeutic products engineered to inactivate proteins which play
key roles in cancer, AIDS, and other serious diseases.
NOTE: The Immune Response Corporation news releases are available at no
charge through the company's automated attendant 800 number at 800-491-0153.
News releases are also available through PR Newswire's Company News On-Call
fax service. For a menu of available news releases or to retrieve a specific
release made by The Immune Response Corporation, please call 800-758-5804,
extension 434675. Please retain these numbers for future reference. Company
information can also be located on the Internet Web Site: imnr.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Actual results
could vary materially from those expected due to a variety of risk factors,
including whether REMUNE will be successfully developed and registration
applied for, whether REMUNE will be approved for marketing by regulatory
authorities, whether any profits will be derived from REMUNE even if it is
successfully developed and approved for marketing, whether Immune Response
will receive any payments beyond the payment already made under the agreement
with Agouron, the uncertainty of successful completion of clinical trials, and
those risks set forth from time to time in The Immune Response Corporation's
SEC filings, including but not limited to its report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 1997. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly
release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements which
may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to
reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
REMUNE(TM) is a trademark of The Immune Response Corporation
SOURCE The Immune Response Corporation
-0- 10/19/98
/CONTACT: Charles J. Cashion, Senior Vice President of The Immune
Response Corporation, 800-491-0153/
/Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 434675/
/Web site: imnr.com |
