Description
Agenus Inc. is a Lexington, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company focused on immunotherapy including immuno-oncology, a field that uses the immune system to control or cure cancer. The company is developing checkpoint modulators (CPMs), patient-specific anti-cancer vaccines, and adjuvants that can be used with a range of vaccines. CPM development is a particularly fast-moving field, since early products have produced unprecedented clinical benefits for patients.
History
Agenus was founded in 1994 by Garo H. Armen and Pramod K. Srivastava. The company has pioneered immunotherapies, including heat shock protein-based cancer vaccines, a program that has developed into its Prophage Series of personalized anti-cancer vaccines. Antigenics became a public company in February 2000 on the NASDAQ exchange with the ticker symbol AGEN. In 2000 Agenus acquired Aquila Biopharmaceuticals and a year later it acquired Aronex Pharmaceuticals. In February 2014 the company acquired a European firm, 4-Antibody, along with their portfolio of checkpoint modulators (CPMs) and a platform (Retrocyte Display® technology) to rapidly and efficiently discover new antibodies.
In October 2013, Agenus CEO Garo Armen issued a press release revealing that after an 18-month follow up on the RTS,S Malaria vaccine using QS21-Stimulon®, it was working well enough to support a regulatory filing in 2014. This was the first proof of the efficacy of Agenus's patented "QS-21 Stimulon" adjuvant
In April 2014, Agenus inked a deal with Merck potentially worth $100 million. Under the terms of that deal, Agenus is using its proprietary Retrocyte Display technology to discover antibodies against a pair of undisclosed checkpoint targets for the treatment of cancer. Agenus has advanced two of its own CPM candidates into early drug development and the company is planning to advance several more antibodies in clinical trials.
Today, Agenus is focused on developing a range of immuno-oncology products, including the Prophage vaccines, multiple checkpoint modulators (also known as checkpoint inhibitors or checkpoint antibodies) and its QS21-Stimulon adjuvant. The company's personalized, heat shock protein-based vaccines are in Phase 2 studies. The QS-21 Stimulon adjuvant platform is partnered with GlaxoSmithKline and Janssen. Several of those collaborations involve Phase 3 trials. Altogether, the company and its partners are sponsoring approximately 20 clinical trials of Agenus products.
