DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
ImmunoGen Inc. (IMGN) agreed to a collaboration with Eli Lilly
& Co. (LLY) potentially valued at roughly $220 million in which
the pharmaceutical giant will get exclusive licensing rights to
some of the drug developer's antibody-based cancer therapies.
A number of major pharmaceutical companies have been taking
steps to fill their pipelines as they cope with a patent cliff,
including such collaborations with smaller drug developers.
Under the agreement, ImmunoGen will receive an upfront payment
of $20 million. Each license entitles ImmunoGen to receive
milestone payments potentially totaling $200 million as well as
royalties on any products that result from the collaboration.
ImmunoGen's maytansinoid targeted antibody payload technology is
designed to deliver cancer-fighting drugs directly to tumor
cells.
The company has collaborative agreements with several other
major drug makers including Amgen Inc. (AMGN), Novartis AG (NVS,
NOVN.VX) and Sanofi SA (SNY, SAN.FR).
Shares of ImmunoGen and Lilly closed Monday at $11.36 and
$40.74, respectively. Neither were active premarket.
-By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481;
Tess.Stynes@dowjones.com