Catherex, a US-based immunotherapy spinout of biotechnology company Medigene, has been acquired by pharmaceutical firm Amgen, with Medigine paying an initial $10.5m upfront.
Spun out of Germany-based Medigene, which retained a 40% stake, in 2010, Catherex is developing T-cell therapy platforms to treat cancer.
Catherex spun out certain research and development projects and patent rights into a newly formed company called Aettis in 2014, keeping its oncolytic viruses patent portfolio. Medigene will keep a 39% stake in Aettis.
Medigene will receive a 40% share of all payments made through the deal, which will include milestone payments made according to the achievement of certain regulatory and sales-based milestones for Imlygic, Amgen’s metastatic melanoma drug.