CD40 antagonistic Mab hoped to be first product in fruitful pipeline.

Kirin Brewery Company and Astellas Pharma will exclusively partner in developing and marketing a fully human anti-CD40 antagonistic Mab worldwide.

Kirin discovered this CD40 antagonistic Mab and reports that it has shown strong immunosuppressive activity in preclinical studies.

Under the terms of the license and collaborative R&D agreement, Kirin will receive an upfront payment as well as milestone payments. The companies will share the R&D costs. Astellas has the right to sell the product, and Kirin has the right to co-promote it, both on a worldwide basis.  The companies will share the profits on worldwide sales. Kirin, however, retains co-marketing rights in Japan, and each party will pay the other a royalty instead of profit sharing.