SAN DIEGO, April 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Epimmune Inc. (Nasdaq: EPMN - News) today announced that it had achieved a second milestone event in its collaboration with Genencor International, Inc. Epimmune has identified epitope candidates for inclusion in the human papilloma virus (HPV) therapeutic vaccine being developed by the companies under their collaboration. Epimmune received an undisclosed milestone payment from Genencor as a result of this work. Epimmune had previously received a milestone payment for identification of an EpiGene(TM) clinical product candidate for the lead program in the collaboration, a therapeutic hepatitis B vaccine.
In July 2001 Epimmune entered into a collaboration with Genencor. Pursuant to the agreement, Epimmune exclusively licensed to Genencor its epitope and PADRE® technologies for vaccines to treat or prevent hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HPV. Epimmune received an upfront payment upon entering into the collaboration, and Genencor fully funds the Epimmune research in these specific indications. In addition, Genencor made an initial 10% equity investment in Epimmune common stock. The initial collaboration had a term through September 2003 and in October 2002, was extended to September 2004. Upon successful completion of development and pre-commercial milestones, Epimmune will receive milestone payments. In addition, Genencor must pay Epimmune royalties on sales of any products that may be developed under the collaboration. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, Epimmune could receive up to $60 million through the product development life cycle, including the initial equity investment but excluding royalties.
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. The Company'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. |
