Philogen Announces Exercise of Options Within the License Agreement With Pfizer Inc. for the Development and Potential Commercialization of Multiple Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) and Targeted Technologies

SIENA, Italy, January 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Philogen S.p.A., today announced that Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) has exercised options granted under the agreement established in December 2014 for the potential development and commercialization of multiple antibody drug conjugates (ADCs).

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Philogen is a biotechnology company developing targeted therapies with precise specificity in certain diseases characterised by angiogenesis. "We are delighted to confirm that the exploratory phase of the initiative to combine Philogen's validated antibodies with Pfizer's extensive chemistry capabilities has transitioned to the licensed phase," commented Dr. Duccio Neri, Philogen's CEO. "This agreement with Pfizer supports the industry's mounting interest in ADCs technologies."

"This next phase of the agreement with Philogen reflects Pfizer's commitment to advance ADC technologies and underscores their potential to accelerate the delivery of innovative new medicines for cancer patients," said Robert Abraham, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Head of Pfizer's Oncology-Rinat Research & Development Group.

Pfizer now has exclusive rights to pursue development of certain ADCs and targeted technologies and is responsible for research and development and potential commercialization of candidate molecules. Separately, in January 2013 Philogen and Pfizer entered into an exclusive license agreement regarding the 'armed antibody' Dekavil, under which Pfizer is exploring the activity of Dekavil for autoimmune diseases.

About Philogen  

Philogen is a clinical-stage biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of novel biopharmaceutical products. Philogen's strategy is to deliver bioactive agents, for example cytokines or drugs to the site of disease using antibodies and ligands that specifically and efficiently target stromal antigens. This technology has generated a strong proprietary pipeline of five Phase I/II drugs and also pre-clinical compounds in an array of disease indications. Philogen is headquartered in Siena, Italy, and has research activities at its subsidiary company Philochem in Zürich, Switzerland. Philogen is independently owned, and has signed agreements with several major pharmaceutical companies. For more information please visit http://www.philogen.com

SOURCE Philogen S.p.A.