XOMA Licenses Patent For Anti-CD20 Antibody Technology To Genentech And IDEC Pharmaceuticals; Xoma to receive $3 million initial payment plus future royalties.BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 1996--XOMA Corporation (Nasdaq: XOMA) today announced the granting of an exclusive license to Genentech, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : GNE GNE Gateway Network Element (data communications) GNE Game Neverending (MMORPG) GNE Gross National Expenditure GNE Game Networking Engine GNE Graphical Network Editor (Nortel) ), including a sublicense to IDEC IDEC Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor (Portugese: Brazilian Consumer Protection Agency) IDEC Information Design & End-User Computing IDEC Interior Design Educators Council, Inc. Pharmaceuticals Corporation (Nasdaq: IDPH IDPH Illinois Department of Public Health IDPH Iowa Department of Public Health ), to intellectual property covering the therapeutic use of chimeric chi·mer·ic adj. 1. Relating to a chimera. 2. Composed of parts of different origin. IgG1 antibodies specific for the CD20 antigen on the surface of human B-cells. XOMA will receive an initial cash payment of $3,000,000 as well as royalties on the sale of products employing the anti-CD20 technology that are sold in the United States and in other countries where XOMA holds relevant patents. The license relates to XOMA's U.S. Patent No. 5,500,362, issued March 19, 1996 and entitled "Chimeric Antibody with Specificity to Human B-Cell Surface Antigen," and any related patents or patent applications. IDEC is collaborating with Genentech, F. Hoffman-LaRoche and Zenyaku Kogyo Co. Ltd. on the development and commercialization of IDEC-C2B8, a chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody monoclonal antibody, an antibody that is mass produced in the laboratory from a single clone and that recognizes only one antigen. Monoclonal antibodies are typically made by fusing a normally short-lived, antibody-producing B cell (see immunity) to a fast-growing . IDEC is currently conducting a Phase III pivotal trial with IDEC-C2B8 in patients with non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphomas. "This agreement underscores the value of the relationship between XOMA and Genentech," said John P. McLaughlin, executive vice president at Genentech. "Also, by securing a license to XOMA's patents, we gain access to intellectual property that supports our efforts with IDEC to develop an important treatment for non-Hodgkins B-cell lymphoma." "Obtaining a license to this patent provides an extra layer of protection for IDEC-C2B8, in addition to that which it currently enjoys through our proprietary manufacturing technologies and the product's Orphan Drug orphan drug, drug developed under the U.S. Orphan Drug Act (1983) to treat a disease that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. The orphan drug law offers tax breaks and a seven-year monopoly on drug sales to induce companies to undertake the status," commented William H. Rastetter, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of IDEC. "We are pleased that XOMA's pioneering chimerization technology can help IDEC and Genentech move forward in the commercialization of a product that could bring significant benefit to patients suffering from non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma," said John L. Castello, XOMA chairman, president and chief executive officer. "This license makes it possible for all parties to realize value from this intellectual property." Genentech, Inc. is a leading biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets human pharmaceuticals for significant unmet medical needs. Ten of the currently marketed biotechnology products stem from Genentech research, five of which Genentech markets directly. The company has headquarters in South San Francisco, California South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 60,552 at the 2000 census. , and its stock is traded on the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and Pacific Stock Exchanges under the symbol GNE. IDEC Pharmaceuticals focuses on developing targeted immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases Autoimmune diseases A group of diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, in which immune cells turn on the body, attacking various tissues and organs. Mentioned in: Complement Deficiencies, Premature Menopause . IDEC's products are primarily designed to act through immune mechanisms and potentially offer greater specificity of action, longer therapeutic effect and lower toxicity than is typical of existing therapies. All of IDEC's products are designed for administration in outpatient settings, providing the opportunity to reduce overall treatment costs. XOMA Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company developing products for the treatment of infections and immunologic disorders. The company is focused primarily on the accelerated development of products derived from a human host-defense protein, BPI (bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein). Neuprex(TM), XOMA's first BPI-derived product, is currently in clinical trials for four different indications. -0- NOTE TO EDITORS: For a copy of this or other recent releases call XOMA Fax News on Demand, 800/901-7788. CONTACT: XOMA Corporation Ellen M. Martin, 510/644-1170 or 800/BIO-XOMA XOMA home page at http://www.xoma.com |
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