Agenus Inc (NASDAQ:AGEN) has been in a very profitable position lately. The company’s stock seems to be giving high returns in short term trading. The stock had been registering an increase since April 20, before registering a small decline on April 28. Now the company is trying to make use of its position to acquire key antibody assets from Celexion LLC.
Agenus is an immunology company, targeting treatments for cancer, amongst other diseases. Their acquisition includes the SECANT yeast display platform, which is designed for highly efficient analysis of drug targets, like checkpoint proteins. Additionally, the company would also gain the Retrocyte Display platform for further optimization of antibodies. Agenus, plans to combine the two platforms to accelerate the development of its own and partner programs. These would also include the programs from Merck and Incyte.
The list also includes Celexion’s approaches to generate antibodies against protein targets that are membrane bound. The approaches are aimed at assessing antibody bindings, to determine the functional attributes of different antibodies efficiently. The deal has been finalized at a price of $4 million. $1 million of this amount is to be paid in cash, while $3 million would be paid in AGEN stock. However, further considerations about the payments are expected to be made in the next 2-years.
The Chief Scientific Officer at Agenus, Roert B. Stein, stated that his company is trying to study the interactions between cancer cells and the immune system. This should allow them to view points for interventions. He stated that recent acquisitions had helped them advance a number of development candidates to IND. The new assets will allow the maximization of speed and flexibility in antibody generation and optimization.
Agenus Inc (NASDAQ:AGEN) closed at $6.93, after losing 4.28% on April 28. The company has 70.76 million shares being traded in the market, with a 52-week range of $2.48-$8. In comparison to its peers in the bio-tech industry, Agenus has outperformed in terms of quarterly revenue growth year over year. As per current stats its growth is rated at 3.12, compared to the industry’s 0.18.
