Monday, March 2, 2009

ImmunoGen due for $6.5M milestone pay

By Mass High Tech staff

Waltham biopharmaceuticals firm ImmunoGen Inc. will receive a $6.5 million milestone payment from Genetech Inc. and Roche Holding AG, stemming from the start of a Phase 3 trial of a treatment for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer developed by the two companies.

The Phase 3 trial tests T-DM1, which uses ImmunoGen’s DM1 cell-killing agent in combination with Genentech’s anti-HER2 antibody, trastuzumab, as a second-line breast cancer treatment.

The clinical trial consists of 580 patients through about 260 medical centers globally. Some patients will receive the T-DMI treatment alone, while others will receive capecitabine plus lapatinib.
T-DM1 is also about to be reviewed in a Phase 2 clinical trial as a third-line treatment for HER2-positive MBC. This trial is currently enrolling patients and could potentially receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.