Medarex gets milestone from Centocor for Stelara

USA-based Medarex will receive an undisclosed milestone payment from licensing partner Centocor as its Stelara (ustekinumab) has received marketing approval as an infrequently-administered subcutaneous injection for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis from Health Canada's Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate.

"Stelara marks the first approval by a major regulatory authority of an antibody generated from our UltiMAb technology platform and represents a great achievement for Medarex," said Howard Pien, chief executive of the firm. "We look forward to the royalty stream generated by future sales of this product, which will assist with continued investment in our own R&D programs," he added.

Stelara is a human monoclonal antibody with a novel mechanism of action that targets certain cytokines, naturally-occurring proteins that are important in the body's regulation of immune responses and that are believed to play a role in immune-mediated inflammatory disorders, including psoriasis. Regulatory applications for marketing authorization for the drug have been filed in the USA and Europe.