Agenus Presents Clinical Responses of AGEN1884 (anti-CTLA-4) and AGEN2034 (anti-PD-1) at ASCO 2018

LEXINGTON, Mass., June 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology company with a pipeline of immune checkpoint antibodies, cancer vaccines, and adoptive cell therapies¹, today presented updated clinical data on its lead CTLA-4 and PD-1 programs at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, in Chicago.  Agenus is expanding beyond these backbone I-O compounds with 6 planned INDs in 2018 and 2 additional INDs in 1H2019.

Over 100 patients with advanced refractory cancer received CTLA-4 (AGEN1884) and/or PD-1 (AGEN2034). Clinical benefit was observed in 31% and 42% of evaluable patients, respectively.  Both antibodies were well tolerated with prolonged exposure and the recommended dose was selected for the ongoing phase 2 trial of combination AGEN1884 (1mg/kg) and AGEN2034 (3mg/kg) in 2L cervical cancer. The pharmacology and half-life of AGEN1884 and AGEN2034 are comparable to commercially available CTLA-4 and PD-1.   

"CTLA-4 and PD-1 are backbone I-O therapies, critical drivers of efficacy in combination with each other and standard of care treatments.  Our CTLA-4 (of the same IgG1 subclass as Yervoy®) PD-1 are the most advanced clinical stage combination," said Garo Armen, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Agenus.  "Expanding from here, we are on track to file 6 INDs this year which includes bispecific antibodies that modify the tumor microenvironment to make tumors more susceptible to immune attack. These next gen compounds are amongst the most desirable approaches and we have at least two compounds with these properties as well as a next generation CTLA-4 (AGEN1181), designed to enhance T cell priming."

ASCO posters are available on the Company's website at http://agenusbio.com/technology/publications/.

About Agenus
Agenus is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focused on the discovery and development of therapies that engage the body's immune system to fight cancer. The Company's vision is to expand the patient populations benefiting from cancer immunotherapy by pursuing combination approaches that leverage a broad repertoire of antibody therapeutics and proprietary cancer vaccine platforms. The Company is equipped with a suite of antibody discovery platforms and a state-of-the-art GMP manufacturing facility with the capacity to support early phase clinical programs. Agenus is headquartered in Lexington, MA.  For more information, please visit www.agenusbio.com; information that may be important to investors will be routinely posted on our website.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws, including statements regarding Agenus' planned clinical development and regulatory plans and timelines for IND submissions. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the factors described under the Risk Factors section of our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Agenus cautions investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this release. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Agenus undertakes no obligation to update or revise the statements, other than to the extent required by law. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

Contact:

Agenus Inc. 
Jennifer Buell, PhD
781-674-4420 
Jennifer.Buell@agenusbio.com

¹Through AgenTus Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Agenus
²Clinical benefit is defined as partial responses, complete responses, disease stabilization; observed in 5 of 16 evaluable patients for CTLA-4 and 13 of 31 evaluable patients for PD-1

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SOURCE Agenus Inc.