Genentech obtains rights to commercialise in North America while BioInvent retains Rest of World rights
LUND, Sweden | Jan 12, 2007 | BioInvent announced today that it has entered into a strategic collaboration with Genentech, Inc. to co-develop and commercialize BioInvent´s proprietary antibody candidate, BI-204, for the potential treatment of multiple cardiovascular conditions. Genentech will make an upfront payment of $15 million to BioInvent and, in addition, BioInvent could receive further milestone payments of up to $175 million as well as royalties on sales in North America.
Under the terms of the agreement, Genentech and BioInvent will be jointly responsible for clinical development. Genentech will be responsible for, and will solely control, any commercialization of the drug in North America, whilst BioInvent will be responsible for, and will solely control, commercialization in the rest of the world. Throughout development Genentech and BioInvent will share the development costs.
"We believe this deal could accelerate BioInvent´s product development and that Genentech´s proven track record in antibody development and commercialization makes it an ideal collaborator", says BioInvent´s CEO Svein Mathisen in a comment. "Retaining the rights to the product outside of North America gives us an opportunity to increase our participation and involvement in the product´s success."
BI-204, which is in pre-clinical development, addresses a significant medical need, in particular for the prevention of a cardiovascular event such as a myocardial infarction or stroke in patients at risk. Preclinical studies suggest that this treatment could reduce atherosclerotic plaque burden, and thereby decrease the risk of a secondary cardiovascular event.
BI-204 targets a primary cause of atherosclerosis by blocking a major mediator of vascular inflammation that is believed to lead to the formation of unstable plaque in the vessel wall. Preclinical animal models have demonstrated that this blockade leads to decreased vascular inflammation and a reduction in established atherosclerotic plaque.
For more information
BioInvent International AB
Svein Mathisen
President & CEO
Tel: +46 (0)46-286 85 67
Mobile: +46 (0)708-97 82 13
E-mail: svein.mathisen@bioinvent.com
Cristina Glad
Executive Vice President
Tel: +46 (0)46-286 85 51
Mobile: +46 (0)708-16 85 70
E-mail: cristina.glad@bioinvent.com
Northbank Communications
Katja Stout, Director
Tel: +44 (0)20 3008 7550
E-mail: bioinvent@northbankcommunicaitons.com
Legal disclaimer
This press release contains statements about the future, consisting of subjective assumptions and forecasts for future scenarios. Predictions for the future only apply as of the date they are made and are, by their very nature, in the same way as research and development work in the biotech segment, associated with risk and uncertainty. With this in mind, the actual outcome may deviate significantly from the scenarios described in this press release.
Notes to editors:
BioInvent International AB, listed on The Nordic Exchange (OMXS:BINV), is a research-based pharma¬ceutical company that focuses on developing antibody drugs. The Company is currently running innovative drug projects within the areas of thrombosis, cancer, atherosclerosis, HIV infection and ophthalmic diseases.
These projects are based on a competitive technology platform that covers the value chain for development of new drugs. The scope and strength of this platform is also utilised by partners, such as ALK-Abelló, Antisoma, ImmunoGen, OrbusNeich, Syngenta, UCB and XOMA.
The Company, which currently has 96 employees, is located at Ideon in Lund.
BioInvent International AB (publ)
Co. reg. No. 556537-7263,
Address: Sölvegatan 41
Mailing address: SE-223 70 LUND
Tel: +46 (0)46 286 85 50
info@bioinvetn.com
www.bioinvent.com
SOURCE: BioInvent
