argenx Inks $1.6 Billion Agreement With Janssen Affiliate

San Diego – February 26, 2019 – Cooley advised argenx on its global collaboration and license agreement with Cilag GmbH International, an affiliate of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, for its product candidate cusatuzumab (ARGX‑110), a highly-differentiated anti‑CD70 SIMPLE Antibody. Partners Jane Adams and Nicola Maguire led the Cooley team advising argenx on the agreement, which is potentially worth $1.6 billion.

Cusatuzumab is an antibody being evaluated for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome.

Under the terms of the agreement, Janssen paid argenx $300 million upfront, and Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. purchased $200 million of newly issued argenx shares. Additionally, argenx is eligible to receive up $1.3 billion in milestones, as well as tiered, double-digit royalties.

“Janssen is an ideal strategic partner for us to develop this differentiated investigational therapy given its extensive clinical, regulatory and commercial expertise in oncology, and we believe that through this collaboration we are best positioned to reach the broadest number of patients as quickly as possible,” said argenx CEO Tim Van Hauwermeiren in a statement. “The collaboration also strengthens our financial position, enabling our growth into a fully integrated organization as we continue to exploit our deep pipeline of wholly-owned product candidates.”

argenx is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a deep pipeline of differentiated antibody-based therapies for the treatment of severe autoimmune diseases and cancer.

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