CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDRA), today announced that it has
achieved a milestone under its worldwide licensing and collaboration
agreement with Merck KGaA upon the dosing of the first patient in a
clinical study of IMO-2055 in combination with Erbitux® and Camptosar®
in patients with colorectal cancer. Under the terms of the agreement,
the Company is entitled to receive a payment of €3.0 million ($3.8
million) from Merck KGaA, the global pharmaceutical and chemical company
based in Darmstadt, Germany.
“We are pleased with the initiation of the clinical study of IMO-2055 in
combination with Erbitux and Camptosar in patients with colorectal
cancer,” said Alice Bexon, MBChB, Vice President of Clinical
Development. “The use of IMO-2055 with Erbitux is a further step in the
combination of IMO-2055 with selected targeted agents in cancer
treatment.”
The Company expects that it will receive the milestone payment of €3.0
million (approximately $3.8 million based on the currency exchange rate
on January 30, 2009) from Merck KGaA during the second quarter of 2009.
The clinical study is being conducted under the Company’s
Investigational New Drug application.
About the Collaboration
Idera Pharmaceuticals entered into a worldwide licensing and
collaboration agreement with Merck KGaA of Germany in December 2007 for
the research, development and commercialization of Idera’s Toll-like
Receptor 9 (TLR9) agonists for the treatment of cancer. In addition to
the clinical study announced today, under the Company’s collaboration
with Merck KGaA, IMO-2055 is currently in a Phase 1b clinical study in
combination with Tarceva® and Avastin® in patients with advanced
non-small cell lung cancer.
About Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Idera Pharmaceuticals develops drug candidates to treat infectious
diseases, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and respiratory diseases, and for
use as vaccine adjuvants. Our proprietary drug candidates are designed
to modulate specific Toll-like Receptors, which are a family of immune
system receptors that direct immune system responses. Our pioneering DNA
and RNA chemistry expertise enables us to create drug candidates for
internal development and generates opportunities for multiple
collaborative alliances. For more information, visit www.iderapharma.com.
Idera Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning Idera
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. that involve a number of risks and uncertainties.
For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not
statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking
statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words "believes,"
"anticipates," "plans," "expects," "estimates," "intends," "should,"
"could," "will," "may," and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that
could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those
indicated by such forward-looking statements, including whether results
obtained in preclinical studies or early clinical studies will be
indicative of results obtained in future clinical trials or warrant
additional trials; whether products based on the Company’s technology
will advance into or through the clinical trial process on a timely
basis or at all and receive approval from the United States Food and
Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies; whether,
if the Company's products receive approval, they will be successfully
distributed and marketed; whether the Company’s collaborations will be
successful; whether the patents and patent applications owned or
licensed by the Company will protect the its technology and prevent
others from infringing it; whether the Company’s cash resources will be
sufficient to fund the its operations; and such other important factors
as are set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company’s
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on November 6, 2008, which important
factors are incorporated herein by reference. The Company disclaims any
intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
Erbitux is a registered trademark of ImClone Systems Incorporated.
Camptosar is a registered trademark of Pfizer. Tarceva is a registered
trademark of OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Avastin is a registered trademark
of Genentech, Inc.
Source: Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Kelly Luethje, 617-679-5519
kluethje@iderapharma.com
or
MacDougall
Biomedical Communications
Chris Erdman, 781-235-3060
cerdman@macbiocom.com
