1. In Vivo
  2. >>Archive

When is a Target Not a Target?

Medarex is reevaluating its plans to bring 10 antibodies into the clinic each year, in part because targets identified by its array of young partners are taking a lot of work to validate. The company has gained appreciation for vaccines and for the potential of using antibodies as general immune stimulants rather than specifically targeted therapeutics.

"The promise of medicine in the post-genomic world is still as exciting as ever," declares Don Drakeman, CEO of Medarex Inc. , but he reckons that "probably some of the early industry-wide enthusiasm for mapping the genome and getting new targets slid over a lot of blocking and tackling that has to be done." As head of a company leveraging rights to basic means of producing therapeutic antibodies, Drakeman is on the front line, trying to move forward into a space that is still coming into being.

Like Abgenix Inc. , which effectively shares a duopoly with Medarex on technology for making mice with human immune...

Welcome to In Vivo

Create an account to read this article

Already a subscriber?

More from Archive

Final Chance To Have Your Say: Take Our Reader Survey This Week

 
• By Eleanor Malone

Editor’s note: This is your final call to participate in the survey to better understand our subscribers’ content and delivery needs. The deadline is 20 September.

Early Development Deals: Ipsen's Strategy For Biomarker-Driven Success

 
• By Eliza Slawther

Mary Jane Hinrichs, Ipsen’s head of early development, talks to In Vivo about getting ahead of the competition by securing deals for candidates before they enter Phase I trials.   

Shape Our Content: Take The Reader Survey

 
• By Eleanor Malone

Editor’s note: We are conducting a survey to better understand our subscribers’ content and delivery needs. If there are any changes you’d like to see in the coverage topics, content format or the method in which you receive and access In Vivo, or if you love it how it is, now is the time to have your voice heard.

In Partnership with Cerba Research

Prioritizing Safety in CAR-T Therapy: Patient Monitoring with Cerba Research’s Testing Portfolio

The cell and gene therapy (CGT) clinical trial landscape in general and CAR-T cell clinical trials in particular are a special focus for the FDA, EMA, and other regulatory agencies. The whole industry is thus aware of the recent FDA safety investigation and requirements for labeling CAR therapy products.

More from In Vivo

Rising leaders 2025: Aneesh Karatt-Vellatt On Maxion Therapeutics’ Antibody Revolution

 
• By Jo Shorthouse

Aneesh Karatt-Vellatt is leading the charge to redefine how ion channels and G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are targeted with antibody therapies, one of the most notoriously challenging classes of drug targets.

Podcast: Scancell’s Cancer Vaccine Progress With NHS Partnership

 
• By Jo Shorthouse

In the latest podcast interview, Phil L'Huillier, CEO of Scancell, discussed the company's work in cancer vaccine development, and its selection as the first British biotech to be a part of the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad.

Geopolitical Volatility Not Dimming A Healthy Mid-Term Outlook For Life Sciences Deals

 
• By Ashley Yeo

New report by global law firm Taylor Wessing and Bayes Business School forecasts a steadily increasing volume of major life sciences M&A in the coming five years, but highlights concerns over cybersecurity and unrealistic valuations. Taylor Wessing partner Andrew Edge spoke to In Vivo.