Medarex, Organon sign deal to develop therapeutic antibodies

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, Feb. 1 - Medarex, Inc. and Organon, the human health care business unit of Akzo Nobel, announced Wednesday an agreement for the development of therapeutic antibodies.

Organon said it intends to use Medarex's UltiMAb Human Antibody Development System, which allows for the discovery of fully human antibodies in mice, to generate therapeutic antibodies against a variety of disease targets discovered by Organon and/or its alliance partners in discovery research, according to a company news release.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Under terms of the agreement, Organon plans to develop and commercialize fully human antibody therapeutics.

Medarex said it expects to receive license fees and milestone payments as well as royalties on commercial sales of any products that may result from this agreement.

"We are pleased that Organon plans to combine their product development experience with our UltiMAb technology to develop novel therapeutics," Donald L. Drakeman, president and chief executive officer of Medarex, said in the release.

Organon officials said they believe the companies' technologies complement each other and are instrumental in supporting the Organon strategy to build a portfolio of commercially attractive biotech products.

"We believe that Medarex's UltiMAb system is a valuable addition to the proprietary technology of Organon for the generation of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies," David Nicholson, executive vice president of global research and development of Organon, said in the release.

Organon, based in Roseland, N.J., and Oss, The Netherlands, creates, manufactures and markets prescription medicines with a focus on gynecology, fertility, neuroscience and anesthesia. Organon is the human health care business unit of Akzo Nobel.

Medarex is a Princeton, N.J., biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and potential commercialization of fully human antibody-based therapeutics to treat life-threatening and debilitating diseases, including cancer, inflammation, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases. Medarex applies its UltiMAb technology and product development and clinical manufacturing experience to generate, support and potentially commercialize a broad range of fully human antibody product candidates for itself and its partners.

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