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Biotest secures exclusive rights to ImmunoGen’s world leading cytotoxic agent technologyest AG:

 
Biotest AG / Alliance



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Biotest secures exclusive rights to ImmunoGen’s world leading cytotoxic
agent technology

Collaboration and licensing agreement with ImmunoGen secures future global
sales of cancer therapy based on the BT-062 antibody. Option for joint
development in the USA – license payments dependent on milestones


Cambridge, MA/Dreieich, July 11, 2006. Biotest AG, Dreieich, has secured,
via a collaboration and licensing agreement with ImmunoGen, Inc.,
Cambridge, MA (USA), the global sales rights for the monoclonal BT-062
antibody-based cancer therapy which is still in its development phase. As
part of the agreement, Biotest will receive exclusive rights of use to
ImmunoGen’s Tumor-Activated Prodrug (TAP) technology for a specific
antigen. This technology fights tumour cells with the aid of an
immunoconjugate composed of the Biotest antibody and one of ImmunoGen's
cytotoxic agents. The highly specific antibody selectively binds to tumour
cells, which are then destroyed by the cell poison. There are plans for
this innovative therapy to be developed for the treatment of multiple
myeloma and other types of cancer.

The agreement states that Biotest must pay ImmunoGen an initial fee of 1
million US dollars (just under 800,000 euro). Further payments are
dependent on the achievement of defined milestones during the course of the
development and registration process. The milestone payments potentially
total a maximum of 35.5 million US dollars (approx. 28 million euro). In
addition, ImmunoGen will receive royalties on the sales of any resulting
products.

For the US market, ImmunoGen has the option of a 50% participation in the
development and commercialization of the compound in exchange for a payment
to Biotest of $5 million or $15 million US dollars, depending on the stage
of clinical development. If this option is exercised, royalties on the
sales in the US market will not apply, and ImmunoGen will no longer be
eligible to receive unearned milestone payments from Biotest. Biotest is
also looking to enter into partnerships for the development and
commercialization in other countries. This is to curb R&D expenditure while
securing rapid international sales of BT-062-based biotherapeutics.

There is an option for Biotest to take advantage, on standard market terms,
of ImmunoGen’s production capacity for the manufacture of testing material.
Pre-clinical and clinical development will be primarily carried out by one
of the leading cancer research institutes in the USA.

Professor Dr. Gregor Schulz, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors of
Biotest, said, “The agreement with ImmunoGen is a big step for Biotest in
the development of biotherapeutic medical products. In conjunction with
ImmunoGen’s TAP technology, our BT-062 antibody, with its specific efficacy
mechanism and target accuracy, could represent a cancer treatment with
enormous potential. We can now exploit this potential internationally. We
are delighted to have the exclusive right to use ImmunoGen’s proprietary
technology with antibodies to BT-062’s target, and believe the compound or
compounds we develop with it will have a favorable, patent-protected
competitive position.”

“We’re very pleased to enter into this agreement with Biotest, a successful
European-based therapeutics and diagnostics company,” commented Mitchel
Sayare, PhD, Chairman of the Board and CEO of ImmunoGen. “This agreement
further expands the application of our TAP technology and the opportunity
for a significant financial return to ImmunoGen. Of particular importance,
it provides us with the flexibility to choose to participate in the US
development and commercialization of any compound created under it, which
could substantially increase the financial upside for ImmunoGen.”

About ImmunoGen
ImmunoGen, Inc. develops targeted anticancer biopharmaceuticals. The
Company’s proprietary TAP technology uses tumor-targeting antibodies to
deliver a potent cell-killing agent specifically to cancer cells. Four TAP
compounds are in clinical testing – huN901-DM1 and huC242-DM4, which are
wholly owned by ImmunoGen, and AVE9633 and trastuzumab-DM1, which are in
development by the sanofi-aventis Group and Genentech, respectively. Amgen
(formerly Abgenix), Biogen Idec, Biotest AG, Boehringer Ingelheim,
Centocor, Genentech, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and the
sanofi-aventis Group have licensed the right to develop and/or test TAP
compounds to specific targets; ImmunoGen also has a broader collaboration
with the sanofi-aventis Group.


About Biotest
Biotest AG, Dreieich, Germany, is a company that researches and
manufactures pharmaceutical, biotherapeutic and diagnostic products and has
specialised in immunology and haematology. In its Pharmaceutical segment,
Biotest develops immunoglobulines, clotting factors and albumins based on
human blood plasma. These are used for diseases of the immune system or
haematopoietic system. In addition, Biotest also researches into the
clinical development of monoclonal antibodies, including in the indications
of rheumatoid arthritis and blood cancer. The Diagnostic segment spans
reagents and serology and microbiology systems which are used, for example,
in blood transfusions. Biotest has around 1,100 employees worldwide and its
shares are listed in the Frankfurt Stock Exchange's Prime Standard.





DGAP 11.07.2006
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Language: English
Issuer: Biotest AG
Landsteinerstr. 5
63303 Dreieich Deutschland
Phone: +49 - 6103 / 801 - 0
Fax: +49 - 6103 / 801 - 150
E-mail: mail@biotest.de
WWW: www.biotest.de
ISIN: DE0005227201, DE0005227235
WKN: 522720, 522723
Indices:
Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in
Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart

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