Collaboration with Abgenix
AstraZeneca PLC
16 October 2003
AstraZeneca and Abgenix announce Strategic alliance to discover and Develop
Antibody Therapeutics for Cancer
AstraZeneca makes $100 million upfront equity investment to broaden oncology
research scope
Abgenix to receive milestone, royalty and collaboration payments
London and Fremont, CA -AstraZeneca and Abgenix, Inc, announced today that they
have entered into a broad collaboration, license and investment alliance to
discover, develop and commercialise fully human monoclonal antibodies to treat
cancer. The alliance involves:
• the joint discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies for
up to 36 cancer targets to be commercialised exclusively worldwide by
AstraZeneca. For these products, Abgenix will receive milestone payments at
various stages of development and royalties on future product sales. In
addition, the collaboration will involve the selection and development of an
additional pool of antibodies by Abgenix, which the companies may elect to
further develop on an equal cost and profit sharing basis.
• For those product candidates for which AstraZeneca holds exclusive
commercialisation rights, Abgenix will conduct early clinical trials,
process development and clinical manufacturing, as well as commercial
manufacturing during the first five years of commercial sales. AstraZeneca
will compensate Abgenix for those activities at competitive market rates.
• a $100 million investment by AstraZeneca in Abgenix convertible
preferred stock, initially convertible into Abgenix common stock at $30 per
share. Upon the achievement of certain milestones, Abgenix may also require
AstraZeneca to invest an additional $60 million in Abgenix convertible
preferred stock.
AstraZeneca may select initial antibodies from Abgenix's existing preclinical
oncology portfolio and both companies will also propose additional targets for
selection. AstraZeneca will be responsible for late stage clinical development
of the portfolio and will hold worldwide commercialisation rights for any
resulting products. Upon commercialisation, royalties will be paid to Abgenix
on sales of products that result from the collaboration. The royalty range will
vary from product to product based on the level of product sales.
The alliance also includes a co-development component under which Abgenix will
generate additional antibody product candidates that AstraZeneca will have the
option to co-develop with Abgenix. The companies will share development costs
and responsibilities for any co-development candidates selected.
'This collaboration further strengthens our position at the forefront of cancer
research, allowing us to combine our oncology development expertise and leading
sales and marketing capabilities with Abgenix's expertise in the discovery,
early development and manufacture of fully human antibodies. This alliance adds
to our proven expertise with small molecules and has the potential to
significantly broaden and strengthen AstraZeneca's oncology pipeline,' said Sir
Tom McKillop, Chief Executive of AstraZeneca.
'This alliance reinforces the value of our antibody development platform and
enables the next wave of oncology products beyond our lead candidate ABX-EGF,'
said Raymond Withy, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Abgenix. 'By
partnering with AstraZeneca, a global leader in oncology research and
development, we take a major step towards bringing a portfolio of highly
targeted and effective cancer drugs to patients,' Withy continued.
The consummation of the collaboration and license agreement and the issuance of
the convertible preferred stock to AstraZeneca are subject to customary closing
conditions, including without limitation the expiration or termination of the
waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976,
as amended.
A conference call with executives from both companies will be held on Thursday,
October 16 at 6:00 AM PST, 2:00pm BST to discuss today's announcement. The call
will be webcast live and available for replay on Abgenix's website at
www.abgenix.com. Participants can access the call by dialling 800-884-5695
(toll free from the US) or +1 617-786-2960 providing passcode 5717 6006.
About Abgenix
Abgenix is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and
manufacturing of human therapeutic antibodies. The company's antibody
development platform includes a leading technology and state-of-the-art
manufacturing capabilities that enable the rapid generation, selection and
production of high affinity, fully human antibody product candidates to a
variety of disease targets. Abgenix leverages its leadership position in human
antibody technology to build a diversified product portfolio through the
establishment of collaborations with multiple pharmaceutical and biotechnology
companies. For more information on Abgenix, visit the company's website at
www.abgenix.com.
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the
research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals
and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the top five pharmaceutical
companies in the world with healthcare sales of over $17.8 billion in 2002 and
leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, oncology, cardiovascular,
neuroscience and respiratory products. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index (Global and European) as well as the FTSE4Good Index.
AstraZeneca continues its tradition of research excellence and innovation in
oncology that led to the development of its current anti-cancer therapies
including 'Arimidex', 'Casodex', 'Faslodex', 'Nolvadex', 'Zoladex' and 'Iressa'.
AstraZeneca is also harnessing rational drug design technologies to develop new
compounds that offer advantages over current cytotoxic and hormonal treatment
options. The company has over 20 different anti-cancer projects in research and
development including a range of novel targeted products such as
anti-proliferatives, anti-angiogenics, vascular targeting and anti-invasive
agents. For more information about AstraZeneca, please visit
www.astrazeneca.com
16 October 2003
Media Enquiries AstraZeneca:
Steve Brown, +44 (0) 207 304 5033
Chris Major, +44 (0) 207 304 5028
Analyst Enquiries AstraZeneca:
Mina Blair-Robinson, +44 (0) 207 304 5084
Jonathan Hunt, +44 (0) 207 304 5087
Enquiries for Abgenix, Inc:
Ami Knoefler, Director, Corporate Communications, Abgenix, Inc, +1 (510)
284-6350
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
In order to utilise the 'Safe Harbor' provisions of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, AstraZeneca is providing the following
cautionary statement. This announcement contains forward-looking statements
with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of
AstraZeneca. By their nature, forward-looking statements and forecasts involve
risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances
that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause
actual results and developments to differ materially from that expressed or
implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include, among other
things, the loss or expiration of patents, marketing exclusivity or trade marks;
exchange rate fluctuations; the risk that R&D will not yield new products that
achieve commercial success; the impact of competition; price controls and price
reductions; taxation risks; the risk of substantial product liability claims;
the impact of any failure by third parties to supply materials or services; the
risk of delay to new product launches; the difficulties of obtaining and
maintaining governmental approvals for products; and the risk of environmental
liabilities.
-Ends-
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END
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