Ablynx Receives Milestone Payment as Novartis Receives IND Approval for a Nanobody in Oncology - Gilde Healthcare

Ablynx Receives Milestone Payment as Novartis Receives IND Approval for a Nanobody in Oncology

April 2, 2012

GHENT, Belgium – Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX] today announced that it has received a €400,000 milestone payment from its collaboration with Novartis. The payment was triggered by the approval of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the Phase I clinical trial for a Nanobody® licensed to Novartis. This is the first development candidate emerging from the licensing agreement between Ablynx and Novartis.
 
Ablynx and Novartis entered into a commercial licensing agreement in July 2010, under which Novartis obtained licenses to develop and commercialise Nanobodies against two targets (including this one for which an IND has been approved), which originated from the research agreement between the parties, entered into in 2005. Since July 2010, Novartis has full responsibility for the continued progress of both programmes and Ablynx is eligible to receive development-based milestone payments and royalties on sales following commercialisation of the products.
 
Dr Edwin Moses, CEO and Chairman of Ablynx, commented:

“We are excited that Novartis has obtained IND approval and that they will bring this first Nanobody into clinical development in an oncology setting. This development candidate demonstrates the power of the Nanobody platform in addressing complex target classes that are challenging to address with conventional antibodies.”

About Investigational New Drug Application (IND)
An IND is an application that a drug sponsor must submit to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before beginning tests of a new drug on humans. The IND package contains the plan for the study and is supposed to give a complete picture of the drug, including its structural formula, animal test results and manufacturing information. The equivalent in Europe is called an Investigational Medicinal Product Dossier (IMPD).
 
About Ablynx
Ablynx is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of Nanobodies®, a novel class of therapeutic proteins based on single-domain antibody fragments, for a range of serious and life-threatening human diseases, including inflammation, haematology, oncology and pulmonary disease. Today, the Company has over 25 programmes in the pipeline and seven Nanobodies at clinical development stage. Ablynx has ongoing research collaborations and significant partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies, including Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck Serono and Novartis. The Company is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. More information can be found on www.ablynx.com.

Gilde Healthcare raises €600 million to invest in healthcare innovation

A balanced mix of international investors commits €600 million to Gilde Healthcare Venture&Growth VI, a transatlantic investment fund Gilde Healthcare invests in fast growing companies that enable better care at lower cost, supported by its...
April 19, 2023

Gilde Healthcare portfolio company Moximed obtains FDA Market Authorization of the MISHA™ Knee System for People Suffering from Knee Osteoarthritis

Implantable shock absorber (ISA) relieves pain and improves function in people ineligible for, or unwilling to undergo, joint replacement MISHA Knee System is implanted during an outpatient procedure; it's the first and only device of...
April 13, 2023

Gilde Healthcare company Adcendo announces extension of series A financing to EUR 82M to develop its first-in-class ADC pipeline

Gilde Healthcare portfolio company Adcendo Aps (‘Adcendo’), focused on the development of breakthrough antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for the treatment of cancers with a high unmet medical need, today announces the successful completion of a Series...
April 4, 2023