Argos Therapeutics and Therakos, Inc. Enter Exclusive Agreement for Regulatory T Cell Technology
DURHAM, N.C. -- Nov 16, 2007 - Argos Therapeutics announced today that it has granted Therakos, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, an exclusive license for the research and development of novel treatments based on regulatory T cell technology developed by Argos. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"The licensing agreement with Therakos will enable accelerated development of an asset outside our primary focus, while providing Argos with non-dilutive financial resources," said John Bonfiglio, Ph.D., president and CEO at Argos Therapeutics. "This transaction further demonstrates our ability to leverage Argos' leading immunotherapy science both through our own programs as well as through collaborations with select corporate partners. Argos continues to advance its proprietary portfolio of immunotherapies for indications such as cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders and transplantation."Â
Regulatory T cells are a specialized subpopulation of T cells that actively control immune system responses and prevent immune-mediated diseases. To function properly, the immune system must recognize and discriminate between itself and foreign antigens. If this recognition fails, the immune system destroys cells and tissues of its own body, resulting in autoimmune diseases. The critical role that regulatory T cells play within the immune system is evidenced by a severe autoimmune syndrome resulting from a genetic deficiency in regulatory T cells. Regulatory T cells can be isolated from a patient's own blood following a leukapheresis procedure, expanded outside the body to increase their number and function, and then given back to the patient for treatment of a variety of serious immune-mediated diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and asthma.
About Argos Therapeutics, Inc.
Argos Therapeutics is developing breakthrough immunotherapies that target the unique features of a patient's disease. This new generation of personalized cancer and infectious disease therapeutics, created using the Company's "Arcelis" technology, trains the immune system to recognize and attack the disease. Argos' scientific leadership in RNA-loaded dendritic cells and advanced manufacturing processes provide a platform to tackle virtually all forms of cancers and infectious diseases. www.argostherapeutics.com
Argos is a private biotechnology company headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC. The Company has clinical trial programs in cancer and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and has an ongoing co-development and commercialization alliance with the Pharmaceutical Division of Kirin Brewery Company, Limited.
About Therakos, Inc.
Therakos Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, focuses on immune cell therapies. Based in Exton, Pennsylvania in the United States and Ascot in the United Kingdom, Therakos markets the world's only approved integrated system for Extracorporeal Photopheresis. For more information about Therakos, please visit www.therakos.com.