Washington Editor

Medarex Inc. is expecting to receive $151.8 million from the sale of about 2.5 million shares of Copenhagen, Denmark-based Genmab AS, whose stock is traded on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.

The sale of the shares reduces Princeton's N.J.-based Medarex's ownership in the Danish firm from about 11 percent to 5.1 percent. The New Jersey biotech sold the same amount of shares last February.

Medarex in 1999 spun out Genmab, which has licensing rights to Medarex's antibody technology UltiMAb, in exchange for an equity interest in the firm. Medarex initially had a 44 percent equity interest in Genmab. Mederex stands to gain milestone payments from Genmab for zanolimumab (HuMax-CD4), an antibody candidate that is in Phase III development as a treatment for T-cell lymphomas, when certain activities are reached in Europe and Asia. The U.S. firm also could bank double-digit royalties if the drug is commercialized in Europe and Asia, spokeswoman Jean Mantuano told BioWorld Today.

The drug has received orphan drug designation for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) in the U.S. and Europe, refractory CTCL in Australia and refractory nodal T-cell lymphoma in Europe.

Genmab also is developing ofatumumab (HuMAx-CD20), a Phase III investigational product to treat follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic lymphocyte leukemia, and zalutumumab (HuMax-EGFr), a product in Phase III development to treat head and neck cancer, which are both based on Medarex's UltiMAb technology. However, Medarex only received an equity interest in Genmab for those two Phase III products and is not entitled to milestone payments or royalties. Under an asset exchange agreement with Medarex, Genmab in September gained the full rights to HuMax-Inflam (MDX-018), which targets IL-8. Under the deal, Medarex received full rights to multiple disease programs in oncology.

Medarex reported 2006 contract and license revenues from Genmab of $1.6 million, a decrease of $2.5 million, or 62 percent, from the year earlier. The decrease, the firm said in SEC filings, primarily was the result of a decrease in antibody exclusive licenses granted to Genmab in 2006 compared with 2005.

Centocor Inc. also has two Phase III products in development based on Medarex's UltiMAb technology. The Horsholm, Pa.-based company is investigating golimumab (CNTO-148) as a therapy for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, and CNTO-1275 as a treatment for psoriasis. Medarex's pipeline also includes ipilimumab (MDX-010), which the firm is developing jointly with New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and other cancers.

Shares of Medarex (NASDAQ:MEDX) rose 51 cents Friday, or 5.1 percent, to close at $10.50.