Positive Phase 3 for GSK's shingles vaccine Shingrix with Agenus' QS-21 Stimulon® immune adjuvant

LEXINGTON, Mass., June 21, 2017/PRNewswire/ -- Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology company with a pipeline of immune checkpoint antibodies and cancer vaccines, announced that GlaxoSmithKline's shingles vaccine candidate, Shingrix, containing Agenus' proprietary immune adjuvant, QS-21 Stimulon®, triggered a strong immune response in elderly patients previously treated with the current vaccine, Zostavax®, for the prevention of shingles.

GSK will today present the results from the Phase 3 (Zoster-048) study at the meeting of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). 

"This is an important clinical achievement as it broadens the target population that can potentially benefit from this highly efficacious vaccine candidate, which includes our adjuvant, QS-21 Stimulon. QS-21 Stimulon has helped bolster immunogenicity of a number of development stage vaccines in ways that enable activity," said Garo Armen, Ph.D., Agenus CEO and Chairman of the Board. "Clearly this is a further validation of our QS-21 Stimulon, which is moving forward in a number of internal and external vaccine formulations with the potential to offer benefit for patients."

QS-21 Stimulon is being evaluated in conjunction with Agenus' neoantigen vaccine, AutoSynVax™, in a Phase 1 clinical trial, with immunological readouts expected by the end of this year.

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 a number of 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 the Company's product candidates, clinical trial plans and activities and expected timing for trial results, as well as the expected benefits of GSK's Shingrix. 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. 
Michelle Linn, 781-674-4541 
michelle.linn@agenusbio.com

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SOURCE Agenus Inc.