Agenus announced the receipt of a $4 million payment for the advancement of an undisclosed antibody under the license and research collaboration agreement with Merck.
Merck is responsible for all future product development expenses for the selected antibody and Agenus is eligible to receive up to an additional $99 million in milestone payments, as well as royalties on worldwide product sales.
"We are very pleased with the progress of our collaboration with Merck and the advancement of this antibody towards the clinic," said Garo Armen, Ph.D. Chairman and CEO of Agenus. "Our integrated antibody discovery platforms and expertise culminates in discovering antibodies for a broad range of targets, including challenging ones, as was the case with this particular candidate."