Genmab to receive $30m milestone payment from Janssen in Darzalex collaboration

The milestone payment was triggered by the initial commercial sale of Darzalex in Europe.

Earlier this month, the European Commission granted conditional approval to Darzalex to treat adults with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma.

It is approved for patients whose prior therapy included a proteasome inhibitor (PI) and an immunomodulatory agent and who have shown disease progression on the last therapy.

Genmab CEO Jan van de Winkel said: "We continue to be impressed by the rapid speed with which our collaboration partner, Janssen, has been able to develop and launch Darzalex in Europe."

Darzalex is a human IgG1k monoclonal antibody that binds to CD38, a protein expressed on the surface of several immune cells.

It is believed to induce tumor cell death via apoptosis, in which a series of molecular steps in a cell lead to its death.

In August 2012, Genmab granted Janssen Biotech an exclusive worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize Darzalex.

Five phase III clinical trials with daratumumab in relapsed and frontline settings are being carried out at present.

Further studies are ongoing or planned to evaluate the drug’s potential in other malignant and pre-malignant diseases on which CD38 is expressed, including smoldering myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a solid tumor.