Under the licensing and development agreement, Pfizer will make an upfront payment to Avant of $40 million and will make a $10 million equity investment in Avant. Pfizer will fund all development costs for these programs. Avant is also eligible to receive milestone payments exceeding $390 million for the successful development and commercialization of CDX-110 and additional EGFRvIII vaccine products, as well as double-digit royalties on any product sales.
This agreement also gives Pfizer exclusive rights to the use of EGFRvIII vaccines in other potential indications. The agreement is expected to close in the second quarter of 2008.
Briggs Morrison, senior vice president for clinical development at Pfizer, said: “We are excited about the potential for CDX-110 and intend to partner with Avant and academic physician-scientists to investigate this novel vaccine candidate with the hope of providing patients and doctors with a new treatment option for this devastating disease.”