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news.US-based Biogen Idec has exercised its option to enter into an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with Amunix Operating to research and develop new fully-recombinant Factor VIII products with improved therapeutic properties.
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As part of the option agreement, Amunix will receive an upfront $1m payment and will also be eligible to receive up to $38m in clinical and commercial milestone payments.
Additionally, royalties will be paid on commercial sales by Biogen Idec for Factor VIII products incorporating Amunix proprietary XTEN technology.
The companies have entered into a research and option agreement in March 2011, under which Amunix’s expertise in protein half-life extension and its proprietary XTEN technology will be combined with Biogen Idec’s expertise in both hemophilia and engineering long-lasting coagulation factors.
Under the license deal, Biogen Idec triggered its option for XTENylated Factor VIII products and it will be responsible for developing, manufacturing and commercializing therapeutic product candidates resulting from the collaboration.
Amunix president and chief executive officer Volker Schellenberger said the company is pleased to be working with Biogen Idec as its partner, and their decision to exercise this option validates the utility of its XTEN technology.
"The initial research collaboration resulted in the discovery of molecules that are clearly differentiated from current Factor VIII products in that they retain procoagulant activity while having unprecedented half-life in animal models," Schellenberger said.
"Collaborations such as ours with Biogen Idec are a central element of the Amunix strategy to facilitate the use of XTEN in a wide range of therapeutic applications."