NEWS & EVENTS
PRESS RELEASES 2006
ELUSYS ENTERS INTO INFECTIOUS DISEASE LICENSE AND COLLABORATION AGREEMENT WITH MEDIMMUNE, INC.
MedImmune Ventures to Make Equity Investment
Pine Brook, NJ – April 20, 2006 – Elusys Therapeutics, Inc., a developer of targeted anti-infective therapeutics, today announced that it has entered into an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with MedImmune, Inc. to develop new therapeutics for select infectious disease targets using Elusys' proprietary Heteropolymer (HP) Antibodies. Under the terms of the agreement, Elusys will receive an upfront payment, milestone payments as well as royalties on any future marketed products. MedImmune Ventures, Inc., a wholly owned venture capital subsidiary of MedImmune, Inc. will also make an equity investment in Elusys.
HP Antibodies represent a new approach for the treatment of antibiotic resistant infections distinct from traditional antibody therapy. HP Antibodies utilize natural immune system mechanisms to clear pathogens and provide a means to develop novel drug candidates targeted against bacterial, viral and fungal infections. By targeting a unique immune receptor, HP Antibodies enhance a natural clearance mechanism and direct the rapid removal of pathogens from the circulation to tissue macrophages.
"Elusys is delighted to enter into this collaboration to develop HP Antibodies for infectious disease,” said Elizabeth Posillico, Ph.D., President & CEO of Elusys Therapeutics. MedImmune’s expertise in developing and marketing innovative drugs for treating and preventing infectious diseases, provides Elusys with a great opportunity to deploy our proprietary HP Antibodies, while we internally advance the development of our drug candidates including ETI-211, for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections."
“Our collaboration with Elusys builds on our infectious disease development programs with Elusys’ proprietary HP Antibodies,” stated Edward T. Mathers, Medimmune’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Development. “We look forward to developing potential new treatment and prevention options for a variety of infectious diseases through this new product development initiative.”
Under the agreement, MedImmune will combine its expertise in monoclonal antibodies with Elusys’ proprietary HP Antibodies to develop new therapies targeting select infectious disease targets. Elusys and MedImmune will conduct a joint preclinical development program, and MedImmune will be responsible for clinical development and worldwide commercialization efforts of any products that result from this collaboration.
About ETI-211
ETI-211 is a proprietary HP Antibody drug being developed to treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. In previously reported studies, mice given ETI-211 prophylactically were completely protected against a lethal MRSA challenge. Further, all ETI-211 treated animals survived a second lethal challenge of either MRSA or S. epidermidis months later with no additional drug treatment.
This broad “vaccine-like” protection was found to be due, in large part, to the production of significant levels of antibodies that recognize S. aureus, and S. epidermidis, as a result of ETI-211 treatment during the first infection.
About Elusys
Elusys is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of targeted anti-infective therapeutics using its proprietary HP Antibodies for the treatment of infectious disease. MedImmune Ventures, Inc. joins current venture investors including Essex Woodlands Health Ventures LLC, Invesco Private Capital, Crescendo Ventures, and the Legg Mason Emerald Fund. Elusys is currently raising additional venture capital funds from new investors and existing shareholders.
In 2005, Elusys was awarded $4.4M from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and $1M from the Department of Defense for advanced development of its Anthrax therapeutic, Anthim™. To date, the Company has been awarded over $20M from the U.S. Government for the development of novel therapeutics to combat bioterror agents.