Agenus Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel immunotherapeutics, including a portfolio of checkpoint modulators (CPMs), anti-cancer vaccines and adjuvants, has completed the acquisition of 4-Antibody AG, a private European-based biopharmaceutical company. The acquisition includes the Retrocyte Display technology platform which enables rapid discovery and optimization of fully human antibodies against a wide array of molecular targets.

For the past three years, 4-Antibody has been applying Retrocyte Display to create therapeutic antibodies to six key checkpoint targets that regulate immune response to cancers and other diseases. The company has multiple preclinical immune CPM programmes in development.

In this transaction, Agenus acquired all outstanding stock of 4-Antibody for approximately 3.3 million shares of Agenus common stock, plus additional contingent payments, payable in cash or Agenus common stock, that may exceed $40 million based on the combined company achieving certain milestones. Agenus intends to continue 4-Antibody’s operations in Basel, Switzerland and Jena, Germany, and to retain the 4-Antibody management team as part of the combined company. In addition, Shahzad Malik, MD, general partner at Advent Venture Partners, 4-Antibody’s largest investor, has been appointed to Agenus’ Board of Directors upon the closing.

“Through this acquisition, Agenus gained six programs targeting key checkpoints that we plan to pursue vigorously,” said Garo Armen, Ph.D., CEO and chairman of Agenus. “These assets, together with the substantial capital raised in our recent public offering, position us well to develop a portfolio of innovative immunotherapies for cancer. In addition, Agenus now has a flexible platform for rapid discovery and optimization of fully-human antibodies against a wide array of molecular targets, which we plan to leverage on our own, with pharma partnerships, and through our collaborations with Ludwig Cancer Research and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre.”

Promising clinical data with monoclonal antibodies that bind to checkpoint molecules, such as cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) and programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) has sparked considerable excitement in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Blocking these checkpoint molecules unlocks the braking mechanism that gets in the way of immune cells attacking cancer cells. Checkpoint modulator combinations such as CTLA-4 inhibitors and PD-1 inhibitors have shown impressive clinical responses in recent clinical trials. Other checkpoints, such as GITR and OX40, act to stimulate immune function. Agenus is driving leading edge programs to discover and develop fully human or humanized monoclonal antibodies that act as agonists for GITR or OX40 signaling.