Summary: Genmab and Lundbeck enter into an agreement to develop antibody
therapeutics.
Copenhagen, Denmark; October 13, 2010 - Genmab A/S (OMX: GEN) announced today an
agreement to create and develop human antibody therapeutics for disorders of the
central nervous system (CNS) with H. Lundbeck A/S. Genmab will create novel
human antibodies to three targets identified by Lundbeck. Lundbeck will have
access to Genmab's antibody creation and development capabilities, including its
state of the art, fully automated pre-clinical antibody screening and
characterization capabilities and its proprietary stabilized IgG4 and UniBody
therapeutic antibody platforms. Lundbeck will have an option to take selected
antibodies into clinical development at its own cost and subject to the payment
of milestones and single-digit royalties to Genmab upon successful development
and commercialization. Genmab will have a similar option to take selected
antibodies into clinical development for cancer indications at its own cost and
subject to the payment of milestones and single-digit royalties to Lundbeck.
Under the terms of the agreement, Genmab will receive an upfront payment of €7.5
million (approximately DKK 56 million). Lundbeck will fully fund the
development of the antibodies. If all milestones in the agreement are achieved,
the total value of the agreement to Genmab would be approximately €38 million
(approximately DKK 283 million), plus single-digit royalties.
“We are pleased to enter into this collaboration with Lundbeck, world experts in
the development of CNS therapeutics. It gives Genmab the opportunity to leverage
our antibody technology and expertise and to expand our pipeline into a new and
exciting therapeutic area without assuming a financial obligation,” said Jan van
de Winkel, Chief Executive Officer of Genmab.
“Genmab's broad antibody development expertise and Lundbeck's knowledge in CNS
disorders is an ideal combination for developing new treatments in this
important therapeutic area,” said Peter Høngaard Andersen, Executive Vice
President, Head of Research at Lundbeck. “The new partnership follows Lundbeck's
new R&D strategy to ensure we have the most efficient platform for the future
discovery and development of drugs that will be able to help and treat
biologically defined groups of patients with brain diseases. It is this type of
drugs we expect will be in demand in the future.”
This agreement is not expected to have a material impact on Genmab's 2010
financial guidance.
About Genmab A/S
Genmab is a leading international biotechnology company focused on developing
fully human antibody therapeutics for the potential treatment of cancer.
Genmab's world class discovery and development teams are using cutting-edge
technology to create and develop products to address unmet medical needs. Our
primary goal is to improve the lives of patients who are in urgent need of new
treatment options. For more information on Genmab's products and technology,
visit www.genmab.com.
About Lundbeck
H. Lundbeck A/S (LUN.CO, LUN DC, HLUKY) is an international pharmaceutical
company highly committed to improve the quality of life for people suffering
from central nervous system (CNS) disorders. For this purpose Lundbeck is
engaged in the research and development, production, marketing and sale of
pharmaceuticals across the world, targeted at disorders like depression and
anxiety, schizophrenia, insomnia, Huntington's, epilepsies, Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's diseases.
Lundbeck was founded in 1915 by Hans Lundbeck in Copenhagen, Denmark, and
employs today approximately 5,900 people worldwide. Lundbeck is one of the
world's leading pharmaceutical companies working with CNS disorders. In 2009,
the company's revenue was DKK 13.7 billion (approximately EUR 1.8 billion or USD
2.6 billion). For more information, please visit www.lundbeck.com.
This Stock Exchange Release contains forward looking statements. The words
“believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “intend” and “plan” and similar expressions
identify forward looking statements. Actual results or performance may differ
materially from any future results or performance expressed or implied by such
statements. The important factors that could cause our actual results or
performance to differ materially include, among others, risks associated with
product discovery and development, uncertainties related to the outcome and
conduct of clinical trials including unforeseen safety issues, uncertainties
related to product manufacturing, the lack of market acceptance of our products,
our inability to manage growth, the competitive environment in relation to our
business area and markets, our inability to attract and retain suitably
qualified personnel, the unenforceability or lack of protection of our patents
and proprietary rights, our relationships with affiliated entities, changes and
developments in technology which may render our products obsolete, and other
factors. For a further discussion of these risks, please refer to the section
“Risk Management” in Genmab's Annual Report, which is available on
www.genmab.com. Genmab does not undertake any obligation to update or revise
forward looking statements in this Stock Exchange Release nor to confirm such
statements in relation to actual results, unless required by law.
Genmab(R); the Y-shaped Genmab logo(R); HuMax(R); HuMax-CD20(R); HuMax-EGFr(TM);
HuMax-IL8(TM); HuMax-TAC(TM); HuMax-HepC(TM); HuMax-CD38(TM); HuMax-CD32b(TM);
HuMax-TF(TM); HuMax-Her2(TM); HuMax-VEGF(TM); HuMax-Wnt; HuMax-cMet(TM) and
UniBody(R) are all trademarks of Genmab A/S. Arzerra(R) is a trademark of
GlaxoSmithKline.
Contact: Helle Husted, Vice President, Investor Relations, T: +45 33 44 77 30,
M: +45 25 27 47 13, E: h.husted@genmab.com
Stock Exchange Release no. 38/2010
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