Aphton closes IGN311 commercialization and manufacturing deal with Celltrion

By Angela McDaniels

Seattle, Nov. 17 - Aphton Corp. said it has formed two agreements with Celltrion Inc. of South Korea for the licensing, commercialization, product development and manufacturing of Aphton's product candidate IGN311.

IGN311 is being developed by Aphton subsidiary Igeneon AG as a potential therapy for the treatment of cancer, the company said.

Under the agreements, Igeneon has granted Celltrion a license to commercialize IGN311 in specific Asian countries, including Japan. In return, Igeneon will receive milestone payments and royalties from Celltrion.

In addition, Celltrion will provide development and manufacturing services related to the optimization and upscaling of IGN311 and will produce material for further clinical development, the company said.

Celltrion will have the option to manufacture IGN311 for global commercialization.

"This deal ... allows us to advance the development of this product candidate with a limited impact to our cash flow," Aphton chairman and chief executive officer Patrick Mooney said in a company news release.

IGN311 is a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets the Lewis Y carbohydrate antigen, an oligosaccharide overexpressed in up to 90% of all epithelial cancers.

Aphton, a pharmaceutical company based in Philadelphia, develops targeted immunotherapies for cancer.

Celltrion is an Incheon, South Korea-based pharmaceutical manufacturing company.

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