Agenus Inc., an immunology company developing innovative treatments for cancers and other diseases, announced the acquisition of key antibody assets of Celexion, LLC, a privately held Cambridge, Massachusetts biotech company.
Included in the asset acquisition is the Secant yeast display platform for the generation of novel monoclonal antibodies. Secant is designed to enable highly efficient interrogation of drug targets such as checkpoint proteins. With this acquisition, Agenus will now have the benefit of using its Retrocyte Display platform for further optimization of antibodies arising from both the mammalian Retrocyte Display platform and the Secant yeast display platform. The company will utilize the combined platforms to accelerate development of both internal and partnered programmes, including those with Merck and Incyte. The acquired assets also include Celexion’s novel approaches to generate antibodies against membrane bound protein targets such as GPCRs and ion channels, which will be used to assess antibody binding and help determine functional attributes of agonist and antagonist antibodies in a highly efficient manner.
“We are highly focused on dissecting the interactions of cancer and the immune system, allowing us to select key points for therapeutic interventions,” said Robert B. Stein, chief scientific officer of Agenus. “Additionally, we are committed to establishing world-class antibody discovery and development capabilities. Last year’s acquisition of 4-Antibody gave us the powerful, proprietary mammalian antibody display platform Retrocyte Display. Since then, we have advanced several development candidates to IND-enabling studies against four antibody targets using the Retrocyte Display platform. The Secant yeast display platform is highly complementary to Retrocyte Display, which will allow us to maximize the speed and flexibility in antibody generation and optimization. We will utilize the combined capabilities to create best-in-class medicines to treat patients suffering from cancer and infectious disease.”
Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement, Agenus paid Celexion $1 million in cash and $3 million in Agenus stock at the closing; additional consideration in stock and/or cash will be due over the next 24 months.
Agenus is an immunology company discovering and developing innovative treatments for cancers and other diseases.