According to Abgenix, they have agreements with over 50 academic and commercial organizations to provide its technology for development of new antibody-based therapeutics. Working with partner with Immunex, a wholly owned subsidiary of Thousand Oaks, CA-based Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN), Abgenix is developing ABX-EGF or panitumumab, which targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), to treat non-small cell lung cancers, as well as kidney, colorectal, prostate and other cancers. 

Abgenix also started Phase I clinical trials of a new drug announced in February of this year called ABX-PTH, a fully human monoclonal antibody that targets and neutralizes the action of parathyroid hormone (PTH) for patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT), a chronic disorder observed in patients with kidney disease. The trial initiation follows acceptance of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Companies such as CuraGen, the pharmaceutical arm of Tokyo, Japan-based Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd (Tokyo Stock Exchange TSE:2503), UK-based AstraZeneca (NYSE ADS: AZN) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) license technology from Abgenix.

Protein Design Labs, based in Freemont, CA, uses molecular biology to fuse the specific binding portion and certain amino acids from a mouse antibody with a human antibody, resulting in a “humanized antibody” that retains the desired binding specificity while suppressing an immune response. Seven licensed and marketed antibody therapeutics products under Protein Design Labs’ humanization patents generate royalties to PDL including Zenapax® by Roche (OTC RTS: RHHVF) to fight kidney transplant rejection, Mylotarg® by Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) for acute myeloid leukemia, Synagis® by MedImmune (NASDAQ: MEDI) for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and Herceptin® for Metastatic breast cancer, Xolair® for moderate to severe persistent asthma, Raptiva™ for chronic moderate-to-severe psoriasis and Avastin™ for colorectal cancer by Genentech (NYSE: DNA) and its partners.

(HuZAF™) in Phase II studies for Crohn’s Disease, Anti- a5ß1 Integrin (M200) in Phase I for solid tumors, and Anti- a5ß1 Integrin Fab (F200) for age related macular degeneration.

Princeton, NJ-based Medarex uses their proprietary UltiMAb® Human Antibody Development System to create fully human monoclonal antibodies, with 100% human protein sequences, by using transgenic mice in which mouse antibody gene expression is suppressed and replaced with human antibody gene expression so that their mice contain genes encoding human antibodies. 

Therapeutics based on fully human antibodies are less likely to be rapidly eliminated from the human body, potentially reducing the frequency and amount of dosing. Nineteen antibodies from Medarex are currently in human clinical trials or have had applications submitted for trials for a wide range of diseases, such as cancer (including breast, ovarian, prostate, lymphoma and kidney tumors), rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and other inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. 

Medarex owns 25% of Copenhagen, Denmark-based Genmab (CSE: GEN), which has licensed antibody therapies for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and other conditions. Medarex is in partnerships with other pharmaceutical and biotech firms including Kirin, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE: BMY), Centocor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Novartis (NYSE ADS: NVS) and Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE: LLY).