Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Medarex, Inc. (Nasdaq: MEDX - news) and ZymoGenetics, Inc. announced today an alliance to develop fully human antibody therapeutics. The companies plan to combine Medarex's fully human monoclonal antibody development technology and ZymoGenetics' expertise in the field of genomics and protein therapeutics to create antibodies to multiple disease targets identified by ZymoGenetics.
Under the terms of the agreement, ZymoGenetics is responsible for the development and commercialization of human antibody products resulting from this alliance. Medarex expects to receive license fees and milestone payments as well as royalties on commercial sales of products resulting from the alliance with ZymoGenetics.
``ZymoGenetics' expertise in the area of genomics and its proven track record of marketed products derived from its work offer a good match for our human antibody technology. This alliance is another example of how we can combine our technology with the discoveries brought forth by the genomics revolution to advance the development of therapeutic products,'' said Donald L. Drakeman, President and CEO of Medarex.
``Monoclonal antibodies, a key class of therapeutic proteins, have emerged as one of the most important and most valuable medical advances pioneered by the biotechnology industry,'' said Bruce L. A. Carter, Ph.D., President and CEO of ZymoGenetics. ``Through this collaboration with Medarex, ZymoGenetics gains access to one of the world's leading platforms for generation of fully human antibody therapies. Together with our own capabilities for genomics-based therapeutic protein discovery, we expect this alliance to rapidly yield a number of promising new monoclonal antibody candidates.''
ZymoGenetics is a leading biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of protein therapeutics that prevent or treat significant human diseases. ZymoGenetics is currently leveraging its expertise in genomics and bioinformatics to generate a broad pipeline of proprietary product candidates. The company has also established a strong patent portfolio in protein therapeutics, which it plans to commercialize through internal development and pharmaceutical collaborations. ZymoGenetics, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, currently serves as the primary US discovery arm of Novo Nordisk A/S and has recently announced plans to become an independent company. For further information please visit www.zymogenetics.com. |
