ANTIBODIES: Abgenix Announces New Deals, Results - Brief Article

Applied Genetics News, Dec 19, 1999

Abgenix, Inc. (7601 Dumbarton Circle, Fremont, CA 94555; Tel: 510/608-6500, Fax: 510/608-6511) is on a roll. The company has recently announced two new deals with large biotech firms. Also, the company has revealed positive results for its candidate psoriasis drug. To cap it off, Abgenix received $75 million in additional funding though a private placement. Wall Street has taken notice-the company's stock almost doubled in the month of November.

Under a multi-year agreement, Human Genome Sciences (HGS, 9410 Key West Ave., Rockville, MD 20850; Tel: 301/309-8504, Fax: 301/309- 8512) has been granted the right to use Abgenix's XenoMouse technology to generate fully human antibody drug candidates using HGS' proprietary targets. HGS has identified and characterized thousands of fully-cloned expressed secretory proteins that provide a source of novel antigens. HGS will develop and commercialize independently antibody-based drugs arising from this collaboration. Abgenix also has an option in the future to develop and commercialize independently products derived from HGS antigens. HGS and Abgenix will pay reciprocal milestones and royalties for products developed and commercialized.

In addition, the two companies will work together on certain antigens applying their complementary expertise to jointly develop additional antibody drugs. Abgenix and HGS intend to select up to two targets of interest each year for shared development and commercialization. "Combining Abgenix' XenoMouse technology with Human Genome Sciences' rich cache of genomics-derived targets creates a powerful platform for generating new therapeutic antibody products," says R. Scott Greer, president and CEO of Abgenix.

In another deal, Abgenix signed a research license and option agreement with Chiron, Inc. (4560 Horton St., Emeryville, CA 94608; Tel: 510/655-8730, Fax: 510/665-9910, Website: www..chiron.com) under which Chiron will use Abgenix's XenoMouse technology to generate human monoclonal antibodies to an undisclosed antigen in the field of autoimmune diseases. In return, Abgenix will receive a technology access payment and could receive additional fees and milestone payments plus royalties on future product sales by Chiron.

Under a separate agreement, Chiron may use XenoMouse to generate monoclonal antibodies on up to four cancer targets. Chiron will be responsible for product development, manufacturing, and marketing of any products developed through the collaboration. "Chiron becomes the fourteenth partner using our XenoMouse technology to generate antibody product candidates," notes Greer.

Abgenix released results of its phase I/II clinical trial with ABX-IL8, a fully human antibody developed with the company's XenoMouse technology. The multi-center, placebo controlled trial involved 45 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis. ABX-IL8 was safe and well tolerated at all dose levels tested. A dose- dependent improvement was seen in multiple measures of disease. These efficacy measures included psoriasis area severity index (PASI), total body surface area (BSA), Physician's Global Assessment (PGA), and plaque photographs.

Of the patients who received ABX-IL8 1.0 mg/kg and 3.0 mg/kg, administered once every 3 weeks for 4 consecutive doses, 58% achieved a [GREATER THAN]25% improvement, and 21% of patients achieved a [GREATER THAN]50% improvement in PASI score. This compared favorably to patients receiving 0.3 mg/kg ABX-IL8 (20% of patients achieved a [GREATER THAN]25% improvement and 0% a [GREATER THAN]50% improvement) and to patients receiving placebo (0% of patients with improvement of [GREATER THAN]25%). BSA and PGA measures and plaque photographs also showed dose dependent improvement.

"We will be optimizing the dose and regimen of ABX-IL8 for psoriasis treatment in one or more phase II trials to begin next year," says Greer. Other inflammatory disease indications including rheumatoid arthritis continue to be evaluated.