Centocor has licensed certain exclusive rights to ImmunoGen's Tumor-Activated Prodrug (TAP) technology. Centocor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson and a leader in antibody-based therapeutics.

Under the terms of the agreement, Centocor will receive exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize anticancer therapeutics that comprise a Centocor antibody that binds to an undisclosed cancer target and a maytansinoid cell-killing agent developed by ImmunoGen. ImmunoGen's cell-killing agents are designed specifically for antibody-directed delivery to cancer cells.

Centocor will be responsible for the research, development, manufacturing, and marketing of any products resulting from the license. ImmunoGen will receive from Centocor an upfront payment of $1 million, milestone payments that potentially total $42.5 million, and royalties on the sales of any resultant product. ImmunoGen also will receive financial compensation for product development research done on behalf of Centocor and for the production of preclinical and early clinical materials for Centocor, release from ImmunoGen, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops targeted anticancer products, said.

Mitchel Sayare, ImmunoGen chairman and CEO, said, "We are delighted to enter into this collaboration with Centocor, a recognized leader in antibody-based therapeutics. Centocor is the seventh major company that has licensed the right to use our TAP technology, and we now have collaborations with the three leaders in the development and commercialization of antibody-based products: Centocor, Biogen Idec, and Genentech. These licenses expand the number of TAP compounds in development, and help us fund our own product programmes."

ImmunoGen's TAP technology is designed to provide cancer-targeting engineered antibodies with significant clinical activity. ImmunoGen attaches a potent cell-killing agent to the antibody as a payload. The antibody serves to carry the payload specifically to cancer cells, and the payload serves to kill the cancer cells, the release concluded.