Genmab
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Type | Publicly traded Aktieselskab |
---|---|
Nasdaq Copenhagen: GMAB | |
Industry | Biotechnology |
Founded | 1999 |
Founder | Florian Schönharting[1][2][3] and Lisa Drakeman[4] |
Headquarters | Copenhagen, Denmark |
Number of locations | 4 (2020)[5] |
Key people |
|
Products | Arzerra DARZALEX DARZALEX FASPRO Kesimpta Rybrevant TEPEZZA |
Revenue | DKK 10.111 billion (2020)[5] |
DKK 6.313 billion (2020)[5] | |
DKK 4.758 billion (2020)[5] | |
Number of employees | 781 (2020)[5] |
Website | Genmab.com |
Genmab A/S is a Danish biotechnology company, founded in February 1999 by Florian Schönharting, at the time managing director of BankInvest Biomedical venture fund.[6] The company is based in Copenhagen, Denmark - internationally, it operates through the subsidiaries Genmab B.V. in Utrecht, The Netherlands, Genmab U.S., Inc. in Princeton, USA, and Genmab K.K. in Tokyo, Japan. It's a dual listed company with shares traded on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange in Denmark,[7] and on NASDAQ Global Select Market in the US.[8]
The company has 4 approved antibodies used in 6 marketed products, covering cancer indications and autoimmune diseases:[5]
- Darzalex (IV) (daratumumab) for the treatment of all stages of multiple myeloma as combination therapy or monotherapy
- Darzalex Faspro (SC) (daratumumab and hyaluronidase-fihj) approved 1) in many of the same MM-indications as DARZALEX (IV), and 2) for the treatment of newly diagnosed amyloid light-chain (AL) amyloidosis
- Rybrevant (amivantamab-vmjw) for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations)
- Kesimpta (ofatumumab) for the treatment of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis
- Arzerra (ofatumumab) for the treatment of certain chronic lymphocytic leukemia indications
- Tepezza (teprotumumab-trbw) for the treatment of thyroid eye disease
Furthermore daratumumab is in clinical development for Non-MM blood cancers, and teprotumumab is in clinical development for diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis. Besides these 4 antibodies the company has a broad clinical and pre-clinical pipeline of antibody products.[5]
Technology[]
Genmab's technology is licensed from Medarex to create fully human high affinity antibodies using transgenic mice. These antibodies are less likely to elicit an allergic reaction and other side effects compared with other types of man-made antibodies containing other animal proteins because the IgG antibodies produced have human proteins. This technology is called the HuMab-Mouse technology. One benefit of using this type of technology is that there is no need for humanization or complicated genetic engineering to make this antibody fit for humans which cuts down on expenses and time spent developing it. It can be generated within months and can be selected to bind to specific antigens such as tumor cells and other infectious agents.
Genmab also has developed its own technology called UniBody, which is used to make smaller antibodies in contrast to the traditional full sized monoclonal antibody. Its smaller size allows for better distribution over larger target areas like tumors. The UniBody can only bind to one site and doesn’t elicit a harmful immune response by binding to two sites and over-activating cell growth. It does not kill target cells but rather silences or inhibits them. Thus it can be used to treat certain cancers, inflammations, allergies and asthmas, where killing the cell isn’t the objective.[9]
The technology modifies the human IgG4 antibody. Normally the IgG4 is considered inert and doesn’t elicit an immune response. However, they are also unstable and fall apart easily, which makes them unsuitable for therapeutic use. Genmab changes the shape of the IgG4 antibody by eliminating the hinge, the part of the antibody that creates the “Y” shape. This halves the antibody, creating a smaller version now known as their UniBody. This smaller version can only bind to one site and does not stimulate cancer cells to grow.[10]
History[]
Genmab was founded as a European spin-off of American Biotech company Medarex in February 1999. Danish investment firm BankInvest, under , provided the seed investment for the company to start up in Copenhagen. Like Medarex, Genmab began work producing monoclonal antibodies for life-threatening or debilitating diseases. Rising quickly in the Biotech world, Genmab attracted many investors, especially venture capital firms. The company went public in October 2000, earning DKK 1.56 billion, and had a second public offering in January 2006 yielding DKK 800 million.
The company's initial R&D location was a nine-story building in , in the Netherlands; this was replaced with an "R&D Center" also in Utrecht, in June 2018.[4] By mid-2019, this new facility was at capacity, and plans were set afoot to build an adjacent, connected facility.[4]
By 2001, Medarex and Genmab had come back together in a drug development partnership, which highlighted the manufacturing deficit and clinical development expertise of Genmab relative to Medarex.[11]
In 2005 the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and the honored Genmab with a .[12]
2008 saw the company purchasing a 22,000-litre, 36-acre antibody manufacturing plant in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota from PDL BioPharma, with plans to retain all 170 employees thereat.[4][13] However, the company ran into financial trouble originating from several quarters, and a decision to sell the facility was reached in late 2009, after Genmab had started producing development scale batches from the facility.[4] In 2008, the world was experiencing a financial crisis as a whole, and GlaxoSmithKline decided to exit oncology, which impacted co-development of ofatumumab, an oncology-directed product.[4] In tandem with the sale of the plant, the company reorganized and planned to dismiss about 300 employees.[4] Selling the facility, though, proved very difficult, due in large part to the global financial crisis; by 2012, Genmab had decided to simply write-off the entire facility from the company's balance sheets.[4] A sale of the facility to Baxter came in February 2013.[4]
Following the failed strategy of in-housing manufacturing, Genmab chose to thereafter completely outsource both manufacturing and the conduct of clinical trials.[4]
The Company's first product, Arzerra (ofatumumab) reached the US market in 2009 for refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.[14][failed verification]
Executive history[]
Lisa N. Drakeman, Ph.D. had been a vice president at Medarex and wife of Donald Drakeman, Medarex's CEO and President at the time. Drakeman was one of Genmab's co-founders and was appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of the company upon incorporation in 1999, also joining the board of directors.[4] As of 2002, Drakeman remained in the CEO role,[15] but by 2010 she had announced her retirement.[4]
In 2010 Jan Van de Winkel, a co-founder of the firm, was appointed as President and CEO of Genmab.[4] Since the company started in 1999, he had been Genmab's chief scientific officer (CSO); he had concurrently served as head of research, then president of R&D.[4] As of 2019, Van de Winkel remained CEO of the firm.[4] Van de Winkel is a scientist, having produced more than 300 publications during his career.[4]
Partnerships[]
Amgen: In May 1999, Genmab entered a sub-license agreement with Amgen where it would gain rights to the IL15 antibodies. In October 2001, this was replaced by a direct license agreement where Amgen retained exclusive commercialization options for the products through phase II. Amgen has also expanded its agreement to a new antibody program targeting additional disease targets. Amgen has discontinued development of the IL15 antibody, AMG 714, in psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis based on disappointing results from recent clinical studies. Amgen is exploring options to maximize the value of this asset, but as this time, no further internal development of a lead indication is planned.
GlaxoSmithKline: In December 2006, Genmab entered a deal with GlaxoSmithKline to co-develop and commercialize ofatumumab,[16] a drug that could be used for treatment in CD20 positive B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia, follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, rheumatoid arthritis and other indications. The agreement gave Genmab a license fee of DKK 582 million (US$102 million) and GSK bought 4,471,202 shares of Genmab for DKK 2,033 million (US$359 million).[16] The potential value of this agreement could be DKK 12.0 billion (US$2.1 billion) if all milestones are reached and commercial success is reached in the fields of cancer, autoimmune, and inflammatory disease.[16] The intention of GlaxoSmithKline to exit oncology, disagreement around milestones reached, and financial difficulties of Genmab, led to re-negotiation of the partnership in mid-2010, resulting in an immediate US$135 million payment by GlaxoSmithKline and future financial and licensing concessions on the part of Genmab.[4]
In addition, Genmab has collaborations with Roche (RG1507, a monoclonal antibody directed against IGF-1R, collaboration was terminated in 2009)[17],[15] Lundbeck and Seattle Genetics.
Products and clinical pipeline[]
Status, as of 22 May 2021.[5][18][19][20][21]
Approved medicines[]
Product | Target | Developed by | Disease indications | Phase | Royalties |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Darzalex (iv) (daratumumab) and Darzalex Faspro (subcu.) (daratumumab and hyaluronidase-fihj) | CD38 | Janssen | Multiple myeloma (MM) | Approved (2015 and 2020) | 0-$3bn tiered: 14.92% (avg.), >$3bn fixed: 20% |
Darzalex Faspro | AL amyloidosis | Approved (2021) | |||
Daratumumab | Non-MM blood cancers | II | |||
Rybrevant (amivantamab) | EGFR, cMet | Janssen | Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) | Approved (2021) | ~8-12% |
Kesimpta (ofatumumab) | CD20 | Novartis | Relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RMS) | Approved (2020) | 10% |
Arzerra (ofatumumab) | Novartis (originally GlaxoSmithKline) | Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) | Approved (2009) | 20% (in US transitioned to free oncology access program; royalties only for ROW) | |
Tepezza (teprotumumab) | IGF-1R | Horizon, under a sublicense from Roche | Thyroid eye disease (TED) | Approved (2020) | 7% |
Teprotumumab | Diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc) | I |
Proprietary products in development[]
Product | Target | Developed by | Disease indications/Clinical trial (NCT#) | Phase |
---|---|---|---|---|
(DuoBody-CD3, CD20) |
CD3, CD20 | 50:50 Genmab/AbbVie | GCT3013-01: Relapsed, progressive or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) (NCT03625037) | II |
GCT3013-03: Relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (NCT04623541) | I/II | |||
GCT3013-04: Japanese patients w/relapsed/refractory B-NHL (NCT04542824) | I/II | |||
GCT3013-05: Relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (NCT04628494) | III | |||
GCT3013-02: Safety and Efficacy Trial of Epcoritamab Combinations in DLBCL/FL - 5 arms: A1: epcoritamab + rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) in untreated DLBCL A2: epcoritamab + rituximab and lenalidomide (R2) in R/R FL A3: epcoritamab + rituximab and bendamustine (BR) in untreated FL A4: epcoritamab + rituximab, cisplatin, cytarabine, and dexamethasone (R-DHAX/C) in R/R DLBCL eligible for ASCT A5: epcoritamab + gemcitabine and oxaliplatin (GemOx) in R/R DLBCL (NCT04663347) |
I/II | |||
Tissue factor | 50:50 Genmab/Seagen | InnovaTV 301: Efficacy of tisotumab vedotin as monotherapy compared to four different chemotherapy drugs in patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer who have received one or two prior lines of systemic therapy | III | |
InnovaTV 204: Second- or third-line monotherapy treatment for recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer with disease progression on or after chemotherapy (NCT03438396) | II / (Priority Review of BLA, PDUFA target action date 2021-10-10)[22] | |||
InnovaTV 205: Safety and efficacy of tisotumab vedotin monotherapy and in combination with other cancer agents in patients with cervical cancer (NCT03786081) | I/II | |||
InnovaTV 206: Previously treated locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors in Japanese patients (NCT03913741) | I/II | |||
InnovaTV 207: Previously treated relapsed, locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors (NCT03485209) | II | |||
InnovaTV 208: Platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (NCT03657043) | II | |||
DuoBody-PD-L1x4-1BB (GEN1046) |
PD-L1, 4-1BB | 50:50 Genmab/BioNTech | Relapsed or refractory, advanced and/or metastatic solid tumors (NCT03917381) | I/II |
DuoBody-CD40x4-1BB (GEN1042) |
CD40, 4-1BB | 50:50 Genmab/BioNTech | Safety trial in malignant solid tumors (NCT04083599) | I |
(HexaBody-DR5/DR5) (GEN1029) |
DR5 | Genmab | Advanced and/or metastatic solid tumors (NCT03576131) | I |
DuoHexaBody-CD37 (GEN3009) |
CD37 | 50:50 Genmab/AbbVie | Safety trial in relapsed/refractory B-NHL (NCT04358458) | I |
DuoBody-CD3x5T4 (GEN1044) |
CD3, 5T4 | 50:50 Genmab/AbbVie | Safety trial in malignant solid tumors (NCT04424641) | I |
HexaBody-CD38 (GEN3014) |
CD38 | Genmab (under an exclusive worldwide license/option agreement with Janssen) | Safety trial in hematologic malignancies | I/II |
Programs incorporating Genmab's Innovation[]
Product | Target | Developed by | Disease indications | Phase | Royalties |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BCMA, CD3 | Janssen | Relapsed or refractory MM | II | ~5-6% | |
FIXa, FX | Novo Nordisk | Haemophilia A | II | ||
PRV-015 (AMG 714) |
IL-15 | Provention Bio | Gluten-free diet non-responsive Celiac disease | II | |
Camidanlumab tesirine | CD25 | Relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) | II | 5-9% tiered | |
Camidanlumab tesirine | Solid tumors | I | |||
HuMax-IL8 | IL8 | Bristol-Myers Squibb | Advanced cancers | I/II | ~2-5% |
GPRC5D, CD3 | Janssen | Relapsed or refractory MM | I | ~5-6% | |
JNJ-70218902 | Undisclosed | Janssen | Solid tumors | I | |
JNJ-63709178 | CD123, CD3 | Janssen | Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) | I | |
JNJ-67571244 | CD33, CD3 | Janssen | Relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) / myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) | I | |
JNJ-63898081 | PSMA, CD3 | Janssen | Solid tumors | I | |
Lu AF82422 | alpha-Synuclein | Lundbeck | Parkinson’s disease | I |
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- ^ Carroll, John (7 December 2009). "Genmab shares slide after Roche dumps collaboration". FierceBiotech. Questex. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- ^ "Genmab Investor Presentation - December 2020". Genmab. Retrieved 2 December 2020.[self-published source]
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- ^ "FDA Approves First Targeted Therapy for Subset of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer". FDA. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ "Genmab and Seagen Announce U.S. FDA Filing Acceptance for Priority Review of Tisotumab Vedotin Biologics License Application for Patients with Recurrent or Metastatic Cervical Cancer". Business Wire. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
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