Full Press Release Details
Appoints Jean-Marie Cuillerot, M.D. as Vice President and Global Head of
Clinical Development
Previously with Merck Serono and Bristol Myers Squibb -
LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 6, 2016--Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ:
AGEN), an immuno-oncology (I-O) company developing antibodies, including
checkpoint inhibitors and other checkpoint modulators, and cancer
vaccines, today announced the appointment of Jean-Marie Cuillerot, M.D.
as the Company's Vice President and Global Head of Clinical Development.
Dr. Cuillerot has played a key role in the successful clinical
development of antibodies targeting CTLA-4 and PD-L1 at global
pharmaceutical companies.
"Jean-Marie's exceptional immuno-oncology clinical development expertise
makes him an ideal addition to our senior team as we advance a number of
our I-O programs in the clinic," said Garo H. Armen, Ph.D., Chairman and
Dr. Cuillerot joins the company with 16 years of experience in oncology
clinical research and drug development. Most recently, he served as the
Global Head of Clinical Development, Immuno-Oncology, and Vice President
of Clinical Immunotherapy/Immuno-Oncology at EMD Serono Research and
Development Institute, an affiliate of Merck Serono. At Merck Serono he
oversaw the development of the company's immuno-oncology portfolio,
which included two checkpoint inhibitors and two immuno-cytokines. He
also advanced the PD-L1 antibody avelumab from pre-IND to filing and was
responsible for delivering the dataset leading to the $880 million
co-development deal with Pfizer. Dr. Cuillerot led the Global Clinical
Research team in all interactions with health authorities, including the
At Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dr. Cuillerot was the Medical Lead for
Ipilimumab Life Cycle Management, developing strategies for the
anti-CTLA-4 antibody as a treatment for lung cancer, castrate resistant
prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, gastric cancer and glioblastoma. In
addition to leading the execution of clinical studies, he supported the
filing activities of ipilimumab for first-line treatment of melanoma.
"I am pleased to join the team at Agenus during such an exciting and
productive period. With a broad pipeline of checkpoint targeted
antibodies, including AGEN1884 targeting CTLA-4 and INCAGN1876 targeting
GITR now in clinical development, I look forward to helping continue the
momentum and advance additional novel checkpoint inhibitors and
activators," said Dr. Cuillerot.
Dr. Cuillerot received his B.S. in biochemistry, M.D., and M.Sc. in
cellular and molecular biology at the University Louis Pasteur. He is
board certified in hematology and immunology. He will be reporting to
Robert B. Stein, M.D., Ph.D., President, Research & Development of
In connection with Dr. Cuillerot's appointment, Agenus granted Dr.
Cuillerot inducement equity awards in accordance with NASDAQ Listing
Rule 5635(c)(4). The awards were made pursuant to the Agenus Inc. 2015
Inducement Equity Plan and were approved by Agenus' compensation
committee as an inducement material to Dr. Cuillerot entering into
employment with Agenus. The awards to Dr. Cuillerot consist of (i)
nonqualified options to purchase 150,000 shares of Agenus common stock
with a 10-year term and an exercise price equal to the closing price of
Agenus' common stock on the first day of Dr. Cuillerot's employment with
Agenus, which vests 25% on each of the one-year, two-year, three-year
and four-year anniversaries of Dr. Cuillerot's start date, subject to
Dr. Cuillerot's continued employment with Agenus through each such
vesting date, and (ii) performance-based restricted stock units for up
to 41,250 shares of Agenus common stock that are eligible to vest in a
single installment on March 31, 2019 based upon Agenus stock price
performance, subject to Dr. Cuillerot's continued employment with Agenus
through such vesting date.
Agenus is an immuno-oncology company focused on the discovery and
development of revolutionary new treatments that engage the body's
immune system to benefit patients suffering from cancer. By combining
multiple powerful platforms, Agenus has established a highly integrated
approach for the discovery, development and manufacture of monoclonal
antibodies that modulate targets of interest. In addition, the Company's
cancer vaccine program includes three proprietary platforms focused on
individualized and off-the-shelf vaccines uniquely designed for each
patient. Agenus' broad portfolio of novel checkpoint and other
immuno-modulatory monoclonal antibodies, vaccines and adjuvants, work in
combination to provide the opportunity to create best-in-class
therapeutic regimens. The Company has formed collaborations with Merck
and Incyte to discover and develop multiple checkpoint antibodies. For
more information, please visit www.agenusbio.com; information
that may be important to investors will be routinely posted on our
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws,
including statements regarding Dr. Cuillerot's anticipated contributions
to Agenus and planned clinical trial activities of Agenus and its
partners. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially.
These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the factors
described under the Risk Factors section of Agenus' Form 10-Q filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 9, 2016. Agenus cautions
investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking
statements contained in this release. These statements speak only as of
the date of this press release, and Agenus undertakes no obligation to
update or revise the statements, other than to the extent required by
law. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their
entirety by this cautionary statement.
Michelle Linn, 781-674-4541
Brad Miles, 646-513-3125