Medarex and Epigen form antibody collaboration

Medarex Inc. (Princeton, NJ) and Epigen Inc. (Millbrook, NY) will team up on research, development, and commercializtion for antibody-based cancer therapeutics. Medarex expects to use its HuMAb-Mouse technology to develop high-affinity, fully human antibodies to one or more targets contributed to the collaboration by Epigen. Prostate cancer will be the first indication for new products.

The two companies plan to share equally in the preclinical and clinical development and subsequent commercialization of potential therapeutics. By combining Epigen's human carcinoma antigen with Medarex's mouse/human antibody platform, the companies hope to generate fully human antibodies that will seek and destroy tumor cells specifically and safely.

Epigen is one of several remaining biopharmaceutical companies also engaged in the diagnostics development based on their carcinoma antigen—a protein that appears on all epithelial cancer cells. Epigen acquired its technology originated from Harvard Medical School.

Edited by Angelo DePalma
Managing Editor, Drug Discovery Online and Pharmaceutical Online
Email: adepalma@vertical.net

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