Medarex gets Centocor milestone

Medarex says that it has received a milestone payment of an undisclosed amount from its licensing partner, fellow USA-based Centocor, for the submission of a Marketing Authorization Application to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) requesting approval of golimumab (CNTO 148) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.

Golimumab is a human anti-TNF monoclonal antibody that was generated by Medarex' UltiMAb Human Antibody Development System. Medarex may receive future milestone payments and royalties should this product candidate progress to commercialization and achieve commercial sales.

Howard Pien, chief executive of Medarex, said: "we have seen the accomplishment of a number of development milestones for UltiMAb antibodies - both by our partners and by Medarex - and look ahead to similar accomplishments that we believe will lead to important medicines to address underserved medical needs."