Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Abgenix, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABGX - news) announced today that it acquired IntraImmune Therapies, Inc., a privately-held biotechnology company in Cambridge, Mass. for $9 million cash. IntraImmune has developed technologies that would allow antibodies to gain access to intracellular targets. Currently, antibody-based therapies are limited to extracellular targets like soluble proteins or cell surface receptors. Intracellular targets, potentially more numerous than extracellular targets, have heretofore been the domain of small molecule therapies. Abgenix believes that IntraImmune's technologies offer the potential to dramatically increase the range of potential targets appropriate for antibody therapy.
IntraImmune's technologies were developed by scientific founder Dr. Wayne Marasco of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and are the subject of issued patents and pending patent applications.
``Abgenix is very excited by the potential to combine our XenoMouse(TM) human antibody technology with IntraImmune's intracellular delivery system,'' said R. Scott Greer, chairman and CEO of Abgenix. ``While significant work remains to fully realize the potential of the IntraImmune technologies, we now have an opportunity to greatly expand the reach of antibody therapies. The market expansion potential afforded by allowing antibodies to reach intracellular targets is tremendous.''
With IntraImmune's proprietary technologies, antibodies not only gain access to the inside of the cell but can also be targeted to specific compartments within the cell. This is accomplished by attaching specific gene sequences to the antibody that serve as delivery signals to direct the antibody to a predetermined location within the cell. In this way, intracellular targets that are normally sequestered can be accessed and neutralized by the antibodies. Because the antibodies themselves are ultimately metabolized and presented to the immune system, it is important that the antibodies be fully human so as not to cause unwanted immune reactions. The use of fully human antibodies derived from XenoMouse combined with IntraImmune's technologies could allow the full potential of intracellular targeting to be realized.
``After evaluating a number of strategic partners, IntraImmune believes that merging with Abgenix maximizes the chance of this technology being fully developed and commercialized,'' stated Dana Ono, president and CEO of IntraImmune. ``Our scientific founder and I are very impressed with the Abgenix research team and vision.''
IntraImmune's operations, currently very limited, will be phased out as work on the technologies is transferred to Abgenix. To account for the purchase transaction, Abgenix will incur a small one-time charge in the fourth quarter and will amortize the remainder of the purchase price as goodwill.... |
