NEW YORK (Reuters) - ImmunoGen Inc. said on Thursday it will develop two cancer drugs on its own rather than with partners, moves that will increase its expenses for the fiscal year ending in June 2005.
ImmunoGen said it would test one cancer drug on its own even though it had previously aimed to find a partner, and would move the drug into phase II testing alone.
A research agreement signed with Franco-German drugmaker Aventis allowed ImmunoGen to take the drug in-house because Aventis will help with the funding of other drugs.
In another partnership, Vernalis Plc will continue two clinical trials already under way with a second experimental treatment, but ImmunoGen will take over future development of that drug, too.
ImmunoGen uses antibodies, or proteins that fight diseases, that are targeted to tumor cells. In addition to the two drugs discussed on Thursday, two other ImmunoGen molecules have advanced into human testing.
Shares of ImmunoGen were relatively flat at $6.01 in electronic trading before the market opened, compared with a Nasdaq closing price of $6 on Wednesday.
MeSH Headings:Drugs, InvestigationalCopyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
