XOMA Ltd. (Nasdaq:XOMA), a leader in the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies, announced today that it has sold its royalty interest in CIMZIA(R) (certolizumab pegol) marketed by UCB S.A. for $4 million to an undisclosed buyer. The manufacture of CIMZIA is covered by a license to XOMA’s Bacterial Cell Expression technology. The licensed U.S. patents will expire in 2014. CIMZIA is a pegylated antibody fragment that targets tumor necrosis factor alpha. It is approved in the U.S. to treat Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis.
“The sale of our royalty interest in CIMZIA provides non-dilutive funding to support the development of XOMA 052 for Type 2 diabetes and other diseases and our preclinical programs,” said Steven B. Engle, Chairman and CEO of XOMA.
About XOMA
XOMA discovers, develops and manufactures novel antibody therapeutics for its own proprietary pipeline as well as through license and collaborative agreements with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and under its contracts with the U.S. government. The company’s proprietary product pipeline includes:
-- XOMA 052, an anti-IL-1 beta antibody in Phase 2 clinical development for Type 2 diabetes with cardiovascular biomarkers, Type 1 diabetes, and with potential for the treatment of a wide range of inflammatory conditions. XOMA 052 also has demonstrated positive clinical benefit in a proof-of-concept trial for the treatment of vision-threatening uveitis of Behcet’s disease.
-- XOMA 3AB, an antibody candidate in pre-IND studies to neutralize the botulinum toxin, among the most deadly potential bioterror threats, under development through funding provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (Contract # HHSN266200600008C).
-- A preclinical pipeline with candidates in development for several diseases.
In addition to its proprietary pipeline, XOMA develops products with premier pharmaceutical companies including Novartis AG, Schering Corporation, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited.
XOMA’s technologies have contributed to the success of marketed antibody products, including LUCENTIS(R) (ranibizumab injection) for wet age-related macular degeneration and CIMZIA (certolizumab pegol) for rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease.
The company has a premier antibody discovery and development platform that incorporates an unmatched collection of antibody phage display libraries and proprietary Human Engineering(TM), affinity maturation, Bacterial Cell Expression (BCE) and manufacturing technologies. BCE is a key breakthrough biotechnology for the discovery and manufacturing of antibodies and other proteins. As a result, more than 50 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have signed BCE licenses, and several licensed product candidates are in clinical development.
XOMA has a fully integrated product development infrastructure, extending from pre-clinical science to approval, and a team of about 225 employees at its Berkeley, California location. For more information, please visit http://www.xoma.com.
