Merck & Co enters deal with Agenus worth a potential $100 million in milestones

USA-based biotech firm Agenus (Nasdaq: AGEN) has entered into a collaboration and license agreement with pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) for the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies to immune checkpoints for the treatment of cancer.

Under the terms of the accord, Agenus will discover and optimize fully human antibodies against two undisclosed Merck checkpoint targets using the 4-Antibody Retrocyte Displayplatform, an asset of recently acquired 4-Antibody AG. Merck will be responsible for clinical development and commercialization of candidates generated under the collaboration.

Agenus is eligible to receive about $100 million in potential payments associated with the completion of certain clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones for two candidates from Merck. In addition, Agenus is eligible for royalty payments on worldwide product sales.