Copenhagen and Oslo, 16th June, 2011, 2011-06-16 14:54 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
- First payment under Russian strategic alliance
- Lead antibody drug AT001/r84 in good progress, expected to begin phase I trials in Russia in 2011
Affitech A/S, (NASDAQ OMX: AFFI), the antibody medicines company, announced today that IBC Generium has exercised the license to Affitech’s lead anti-VEGF antibody drug candidate AT001/r84. The license grant triggered a payment of Euro 2.5 million by IBC Generium to Affitech A/S and provides IBC Generium with the exclusive rights to develop and market AT001/r84 in Russia and CIS while Affitech maintains the rights for the rest of the world.
Managing Director of Affitech Martin Welschof said: “I am very pleased that our Russian partner has exercised the license for AT001/r84. We have made good progress with our lead antibody candidate and we share with IBC Generium the excitement about the clinical and commercial potential of our human anti-VEGF antibody. IBC Generium is committed to proceed with the development of AT001/r84 and initial clinical development is scheduled this year.”
Affitech and NauchTekhStroy Plus recently amended their R&D and Licensing Agreement signed in April 2010, and the rights and obligations under this agreement, including the license to AT001/r84, were transferred from NTS Plus to the newly established Russian company International Biotech Center Generium (IBC Generium). IBC Generium is owned by Aleksandr Shuster and Victor Kharitonin, who through TransNova Investments Ltd. are majority shareholders in Affitech A/S.
AT001/r84 is a novel, proprietary therapeutic antibody to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) being developed by Affitech and IBC Generium as a potential alternative to bevacizumab (Avastin®) for the treatment of certain human cancers. The Russian health authorities have identified cancer therapy based on anti-VEGF antibodies as one of the top priority areas of pharma-innovation in Russia. Affitech’s AT001/r84 has the potential to satisfy patient needs in this area. The rights to develop and commercialize AT001/r84 outside Russia and the CIS remain with Affitech.
About Affitech
Affitech AS is a publicly traded (NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen) human therapeutic antibody company based in Copenhagen, Denmark with R&D facilities in Oslo, Norway. The company utilizes a range of proprietary antibody technologies for the discovery of fully human antibodies for application in oncology, inflammation and other disease areas. CBAS™ (Cell Based Antibody Selection) is Affitech’s premier discovery engine for the isolation of lead antibodies to cell surface molecules. Affitech co-develops its two lead antibody drug candidates AT001/r84 and AT008/CCR4 with Russian partner IBC Generium. Further information is available at www.affitech.com.
About International Biotech Center Generium (IBC Generium) and NauchTekhStroy Plus (NTS Plus)
With reference to the Russian Pharma 2020 plan, which aims to increase national production of innovative therapeutics, NauchTekhStroy Plus (NTS Plus) was established as a construction company that should build a modern research park in Pocrov/Russia. NTS Plus is controlled by the Russian biotech entrepreneur Aleksandr Shuster and Russia’s leading pharmaceutical company Pharmstandard (LSE/MICEX/RTS: PHST), which is partly owned and chaired by Victor Kharitonin. An important and central activity was to scout for an innovative therapeutic product development portfolio for the new research park. In 2009/2010 Aleksandr Shuster identified Affitech A/S as a collaboration partner and a collaboration agreement was signed successfully in April 2010 between Affitech A/S and NTS Plus as the only legal entity at the time. Having finalized the construction of the research park the shareholder group decided to separate the construction activities from the research and development activities and established a new company called International Biotechnology Center Generium (IBC Generium). IBC Generium, which is controlled by Aleksandr Shuster and Victor Kharitonin, will drive the science park’s research and development activities. Through TransNova Investments Ltd. owned by Aleksandr Shuster and Victor Kharitonin, the two biotech and drug development entrepreneurs are majority shareholders in Affitech A/S.
About the License Agreement for AT001/r84
In July 2009, Affitech licensed exclusive worldwide rights from Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop and commercialize certain products under Peregrine’s anti-VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) antibody technology platform, including the fully human antibody AT001/r84, a selective blocker of VEGF binding to VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2). AT001/r84 was discovered by Affitech and jointly developed by the companies under an ongoing collaboration. In 2010, the companies agreed to amend certain terms of their worldwide license agreements for Brazil, Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to expedite the development of AT001/r84 for these territories. Under the amended terms, Peregrine and Affitech will reinvest their respective portions of any future milestone payments to be received under the agreements for the countries of Brazil, Russia and the CIS toward the further advancement of AT001/r84. As part of Affitech's recent Russian strategic partnership,initial clinical trials will be conducted in Russia. In the event Affitech enters into a licensing deal for AT001/r84 in a major pharmaceutical market, Affitech has agreed to reimburse Peregrine for its milestone payments that were applied to the program while Affitech will be eligible to be reimbursed for up to 50% of its development costs in Brazil, Russia and CIS territories.
Disclaimer
This news release contains forward-looking statements and forecasts based on uncertainty, since they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and which, by their nature, will have an impact on results of the financial condition and operations of Affitech A/S. There are many factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements and forecasts. These factors include, among other things, risks associated with technological development, the risk that research & development will not yield new products that achieve commercial success, the impact of competition, the ability to transact viable and profitable commercial deals, the risk of non-approval of patents not yet granted, and difficulties of obtaining relevant governmental approvals for new products.
No expressed or implied representations or warranties are given concerning Affitech A/S or the accuracy or completeness of the information provided herein, and no claims shall be made by the recipient of this news release by virtue of the information contained herein.
Contact:
Randi Krogsgaard, Director IR & Corporate Communications
Tel # +45 2320 1001, e-Mail: ir@affitech.com
