LEXINGTON, Mass., Nov. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Agenus
Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology company with a pipeline of immune checkpoint antibodies and cancer vaccines, today
announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of the anti-OX40 agonist antibody INCAGN1949. The
trial is being conducted by, and in collaboration with, Incyte Corporation.
The open-label, dose-escalation portion of the trial will evaluate the safety and tolerability of INCAGN1949 in patients with
advanced or metastatic solid tumors and determine its pharmacologically active and/or maximum tolerated dose. Part 2 of the trial
is planned to evaluate the recommended dose of INCAGN1949 in multiple tumor types.
"We are pleased with the progress of our fruitful alliance with Incyte and also anticipate advancing a number of Agenus
programs outside of the Incyte collaboration, such as our PD-1 antagonist, AGEN2034, into clinical development in the coming
months," said Garo H. Armen, Ph.D. Chairman and CEO of Agenus. "Our pipeline of proprietary and
differentiated assets continues to offer opportunities for additional partnerships."
INCAGN1949 is an agonist antibody targeting OX40, otherwise known as CD134 or TNFRSF4. OX40 is a co-stimulatory receptor found
on activated T cells. OX40 engagement has a two-pronged effect; it can stimulate proliferation of activated T cells that may
promote tumor killing and inhibit the activity of regulatory T cells that mediate immune suppression. INCAGN1949 was
discovered during an earlier collaboration with Ludwig Cancer Research. This antibody is being co-developed with Incyte.
"Immune checkpoint antibodies including those targeting PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 have shown clinical activity across multiple
tumor types that supported their approval in a number of indications, but a significant proportion of patients are still in need
of additional intervention," said Jean-Marie Cuillerot, M.D., VP and Global Head of Clinical Development. "OX40 is an important
co-stimulatory checkpoint that contributes to the regulation of the immune anti-tumor response. We believe OX40 agonism provides
a robust framework for combination therapy with a potential to make a meaningful difference to patients afflicted by this deadly
disease."
Additional information about the trial can be found here.
About Checkpoint Antibodies
Monoclonal antibodies that bind to immune checkpoint receptors, such as CTLA-4 and PD-1, are proven immunotherapeutic targets.
These molecules serve as gateways employed by the body to prevent an overt immune response or allow rapid activation of the
immune response when needed. Unfortunately, these necessary mechanisms of control can hinder the anti-cancer immune response.
They can be harnessed by cancer cells as a defense against immune attack. Agenus is developing a broad pipeline of antibodies
that bind to key immune checkpoint proteins and activate or block their activities for use in cancer therapy.
About Agenus
Agenus is an immuno-oncology company focused on the discovery and development of revolutionary new treatments that engage the
body's immune system to benefit patients suffering from cancer. By combining multiple powerful platforms, Agenus has established
a highly integrated approach to target identification and validation, and for the discovery, development and manufacture of
monoclonal antibodies that modulate targets of interest. The Company's broad portfolio of novel checkpoint and other
immuno-modulatory monoclonal antibodies, vaccines and adjuvants, work in combination to provide the opportunity to create
best-in-class therapeutic regimens. Agenus' heat shock protein-based vaccine, Prophage™, has successfully completed Phase 2
trials in newly-diagnosed glioblastoma. The Company has formed collaborations with Merck and Incyte to discover and develop
multiple checkpoint antibodies. For more information, please visit www.agenusbio.com; information that may be important to investors will be routinely posted on our website.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the federal
securities laws, including statements regarding the Company's product candidates and clinical trial plans. These forward-looking
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and
uncertainties include, among others, the factors described under the Risk Factors section of our most recent Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q or annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Agenus cautions investors not to place
considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this release. These statements speak only as of the date of
this press release, and Agenus undertakes no obligation to update or revise the statements, other than to the extent required by
law. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
Contact:
Agenus Inc.
Michelle Linn, 781-674-4541
michelle.linn@agenusbio.com
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SOURCE Agenus Inc.