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news.ImmunoGen, a biopharmaceutical company that develops targeted anticancer therapeutics, has earned a $4 million milestone payment from Sanofi-Aventis with their initiation of a Phase II clinical trial with AVE1642.
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AVE1642 was developed by ImmunoGen using the company’s expertise in monoclonal antibodies and cancer biology, and was humanized using ImmunoGen’s proprietary resurfacing technology. The compound was licensed to Sanofi-Aventis as part of a broader collaboration between the companies.
AVE1642 binds specifically to IGF-1R to block a signaling pathway used by cancer cells to proliferate and survive exposure to chemotherapy. Sanofi-Aventis has recently initiated a Phase II trial evaluating AVE1642 given in combination with fulvestrant for the treatment of hormone-sensitive breast cancer.
Daniel Junius, president and COO of ImmunoGen, said: “Sanofi-Aventis is making solid progress with AVE1642 and is committed to evaluating this compound for a number of types of cancers. While ImmunoGen is principally known for our tumor-activated prodrug technology, we have well-established antibody development capabilities, as reflected in AVE1642.”