Xencor has received a milestone payment from Janssen R&D resulting from the exercised option for the use of Xencor’s Xtend™ half-life extension technology in a therapeutic antibody. This triggered a payment to Xencor under the terms of a technology license agreement that the company entered into with Janssen R&D (Centocor R&D) in 2009. The antibody target and the amount of the payment were not disclosed.
Using its Xtend technology, Xencor has developed an extensive pipeline of proprietary and partnered antibody therapeutics, as well as biosuperior versions of blockbuster antibody drugs. According to the company, Xtend provides a validated solution to enhancing the serum half-life of immunoglobulin molecules. Using its series of antibody Fc variants, antibody half-life can be readily prolonged to enhance performance in different therapeutic indications.
In November 2009, Xencor licensed Xtend to Centocor for the optimization of Centocor’s antibody drug candidates. Under the agreement, Centocor gained research access to XmAb® and Xtend technology platforms and the right to develop and commercialize a specified number of optimized candidates. Xencor received license fees and was eligible to receive milestones and royalties on products commercialized from the collaboration.