Agenus receives $10M from UroGen Pharma for rights to zalifrelimab (CTLA-4) for intravesical treatment of urinary tract cancers
Agenus Inc, an immuno-oncology (I-O) company with a pipeline of immune checkpoint antibodies, adoptive cell therapies and cancer vaccines, announced that it received $10M upfront for a license agreement with UroGen Pharma Ltd. Under the agreement, Agenus is providing access to zalifrelimab (AGEN1884, anti-CTLA-4 antibody) for use with UroGen's sustained release technology for intravesical delivery in patients with urinary tract cancers. Agenus is conducting clinical trials for zalifrelimab in combination with Agenus' anti-PD-1 antibody balstilimab (AGEN2034) for a planned BLA filing in cervical cancer. In addition, zalifrelimab is being evaluated as a monotherapy in PD-1 refractory patients.
Under the terms of the agreement, in addition to the $10 million upfront payment, Agenus is eligible to receive up to $200M in potential development, regulatory and commercial milestones, as well as 14-20 percent royalties on net sales.
"In our ongoing clinical trials, zalifrelimab and the combination of zalifrelimab plus balstilimab (AGEN2034, anti-PD-1 antibody) have delivered durable as well as curative responses in patients across a broad range of tumors. Agenus is developing the combination in multiple solid tumors with a first planned BLA filing in 2020," said Garo H. Armen, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Agenus. "We are enthusiastic to expand the benefit of zalifrelimab through intravesical delivery to patients with urinary tract cancer in this exciting collaboration with UroGen."
