Apeiron gets rights to Merck KGaA Ph II cancer biologics

2 February 2011

Privately-held Vienna, Austria-based biotech company Apeiron Biologics AG says it has strengthened its cancer immunotherapy portfolio by acquiring rights to further develop and commercialize the immunocytokine hu14.18-IL2 from Merck KGaA (MRK: DE) of Germany. Financial terms were not disclosed.

This investigational antibody-based biologic has met drug development checkpoints to proceed to Phase III in certain pediatric neuroblastoma subjects in a Phase II clinical study and Apeiron plans to continue clinical development of hu14.18-IL2 in 2011, the company said.

Following a first in-licensing deal closed in October 2010 (project rhSOD from Polymun), this agreement complements the company's successful program to broaden its clinical development pipeline. This project expansion was initiated as a consequence of Apeiron's out-licensing of the Phase I project APN01 to GlaxoSmithKline last year (The Pharma Letter February 4, 2010).

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