Medarex Inc announced that its licensing partner, Eli Lilly and Company, has commenced a phase I clinical trial of a therapeutic antibody product candidate. The antibody product was developed using Medarex's UltiMAb technology and is the first UltiMAb-derived antibody in clinical development by Lilly.

"We are pleased that our partnership with a leading pharmaceutical company like Lilly continues to expand the development of fully human antibodies as an innovative therapeutic class, and we look forward to the continued progress that these discovery and development efforts make towards addressing urgent medical needs," said Donald L Drakeman, president and CEO of Medarex.

Medarex expects to receive milestone payments and royalties on any commercial sales resulting from the development of this product.

Medarex is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of fully human antibody-based therapeutics to treat life- threatening and debilitating diseases, including cancer, inflammation, autoimmune and infectious diseases.