XOMA Enters into License Agreement with Merck & Co., Inc.
Friday June 17, 2:44 pm ET
BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 17, 2005--XOMA Ltd. (Nasdaq:XOMA - News) today announced that it has granted Merck & Co., Inc. (Merck) a non-exclusive, worldwide license for XOMA's antibody-related intellectual property. Under the agreement, Merck receives a license to use XOMA's bacterial cell expression intellectual property for phage display with potential use in the discovery of antibody products.
XOMA will receive an undisclosed access fee, milestones and royalties on future sales of any products subject to this license. Additional financial terms were not disclosed.
The agreement also provides an option for Merck to use XOMA's bacterial cell expression intellectual property to manufacture antibodies. Should Merck exercise this option, XOMA will receive an option fee, additional milestones and royalties.
"We are delighted to enter into this license agreement with Merck, and look forward to a productive relationship," said John L. Castello, XOMA's chairman, president and chief executive officer.
Bacterial Cell Expression Technology
Bacterial cell expression technology (BCE) is an enabling technology used to discover and screen, as well as develop and manufacture, recombinant antibodies for commercial purposes. BCE is also a key technology used in multiple systems for high-throughput screening of antibody domains. Expression of antibodies by phage display technology, for example, depends on the expression and secretion of antibody domains from bacteria as properly folded, functional proteins.
XOMA scientists were the first to demonstrate the secretion of antibody domains directly from the bacterial cells as fully functional, properly folded molecules. XOMA has received ten U.S. patents to date relating to aspects of its BCE system, including six patents that broadly cover the secretion of immunoglobulins from bacteria, including antibody fragments such as Fab and single-chain antibodies. Corresponding foreign patents have also been granted. XOMA's patent estate is applicable to the practice of antibody phage display and other antibody screening applications.
Currently, there are two antibody products in late-stage clinical testing which are manufactured using XOMA's BCE technologies. These are Celltech Group plc's CDP-870 Anti-TNFalpha antibody fragment for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Crohn's Disease and Genentech Inc.'s Lucentis(TM) (ranibizumab) antibody fragment to Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) for wet age-related macular degeneration. There are many additional products in earlier stages of development.
About XOMA
XOMA develops for commercialization antibody and other protein-based biopharmaceuticals, with a therapeutic focus on cancer, immune disorders and infectious diseases. XOMA has a royalty interest in RAPTIVA®, a product marketed worldwide that was developed in collaboration with Genentech. The Company pipeline includes proprietary products along with collaborative product development programs. For more information about XOMA's product pipeline and antibody product development capabilities and technologies, please visit XOMA's website at xoma.com. |
