Boehringer Ingelheim and ImmunoGen Sign Exclusive License Agreement
Ingelheim, Germany and Cambridge, Massachusetts, November 28, 2001 – Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH and ImmunoGen, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMGN) today announced a collaboration to develop a new product combining ImmunoGen’s maytansinoid Tumor-Activated Prodrug (TAP) technology with a Boehringer Ingelheim antibody. Under the terms of the agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim will receive exclusive worldwide rights to commercialize maytansinoid TAPs using antibodies targeting CD44. Boehringer Ingelheim will be responsible for the manufacturing, product development and marketing of products resulting from the license; ImmunoGen will manufacture preclinical and initial clinical materials for manufacturing payments. ImmunoGen will receive an up-front payment and milestone payments, in addition to royalties on net sales. Financial terms were not disclosed. "Having access to ImmunoGen`s exciting tumor-activated prodrug technology will allow us to evaluate the full potential of our anti CD44v6 antibody as a more potent and less toxic cancer therapeutic", said Prof. Bernd Wetzel, head of international research and non-clinical development at Boehringer Ingelheim. "This collaboration demonstrates Boehringer Ingelheim`s strong commitment to research and development in the area of oncology."
“We are very excited that Boehringer Ingelheim, with its global expertise in both biopharmaceuticals and traditional pharmaceuticals, will be developing BIWI1 in such an expedient manner and we are pleased to welcome them as our first pharmaceutical partner using our TAP technology with its own antibody,” said Mitchel Sayare, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of ImmunoGen, Inc. “This collaboration further expands the number of TAP product candidates being developed, and therefore provides ImmunoGen with another potential opportunity to share in the successful development of a TAP. Boehringer Ingelheim becomes our sixth corporate partner developing TAP products.”
TAP Technology ImmunoGen developed its tumor-activated prodrug, or TAP, technology to address the therapeutic need for improved cancer therapies by delivering highly active cytotoxic agents directly to tumor cells with minimal harm to healthy tissue. Each TAP product is comprised of an appropriately potent small molecule effector drug conjugated to a tumor-targeting monoclonal antibody. The TAPs are designed to act as prodrugs and remain nontoxic while circulating in the body, only activated once they are inside the target cell. Two TAPs are currently in human clinical trials.
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