GHENT, BELGIUM--(Marketwire - December 12, 2011) - Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX] and partner
Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today announced
that
they have advanced the Nanobody candidate, ALX-0761, into pre-
clinical
development for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. This is the first
pre-
clinical candidate that has emerged from the collaboration which the
companies
entered in 2008, and will result in a EUR1 million milestone payment to
Ablynx.
In September 2008, Ablynx entered into an agreement with Merck Serono
under
which Merck Serono and Ablynx co-discover and co-develop Nanobodies
against two
targets in immunology and oncology. The agreement included an upfront
cash
payment to Ablynx of EUR10 million and both companies will share
equally all
research and development costs and the resulting profits. Ablynx has
options to
opt-out during the research and development programmes, in which case
Ablynx
would be eligible to receive milestones and royalties.
In October 2010, Ablynx and Merck Serono entered into a second co-
discovery and
co-development agreement to develop Nanobodies against one single
target in
inflammation. Ablynx received an upfront fee of EUR10 million and
retained full
control to drive the process up to the investigational new drug (IND) upon
which
it is eligible to receive a EUR15 million success fee provided that Merck
Serono
accepts the IND package. This agreement also allows Ablynx to continue
with
Merck Serono on a co-development basis and share the resulting profits,
or to
convert this collaboration into a licensing deal with milestone
payments and
significant tiered royalties.
"We are very pleased to see our first joint immunology programme with
Merck
Serono advancing into pre-clinical development just three years since the
start
of our collaboration," said Dr. Edwin Moses, Chairman and CEO of
Ablynx. "It
demonstrates the speed at which our Nanobody platform can generate
lead
candidates for further development and we are looking forward to
eventually
entering the clinic with this programme in partnership with Merck Serono."
Complete version of the press release:
http://hugin.info/137912/R/1570501/488377.pdf
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Source: Ablynx via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1570501]
