SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report: October 9, 1998
MEDIMMUNE, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Commission File Number: 0-19131
Delaware 52-1555759
(State of Incorporation) (I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
35 West Watkins Mill Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20878
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code (301) 417-0770
No Exhibits are being filed with this report
CytoGam and RespiGam are registered trademarks of the Company and Synagis is a
trademark.
MEDIMMUNE, INC.
Current Report on Form 8-K
ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS
MedImmune, Inc. reported the information contained in the following press
release dated October 8, 1998:
BIOTRANSPLANT AND MEDIMMUNE ANNOUNCE ISSUANCE OF SECOND U.S. PATENT COVERING
MEDI-507 AND BTI-322 ANTIBODIES
Gaithersburg, MD, and Charlestown, MA, October 8, 1998 -- BioTransplant
Incorporated (Nasdaq:BTRN) and MedImmune, Inc. (Nasdaq:MEDI) announced today
that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent no. 5,817,311
relating to the companies' antibodies BTI-322 and MEDI-507, the humanized form
of BTI-322. The patent, licensed exclusively to BioTransplant and sublicensed
to MedImmune, extends the intellectual property covered by the companies'
earlier patent, which covered composition of matter and the use of BTI-322 and
MEDI-507 to inhibit T cell-mediated immune responses. The newly issued patent
covers the use of any antibody that binds to the target epitope recognized by
the BTI-322 and MEDI-507 antibodies. The BTI-322/MEDI-507 receptor may play a
key role in regulating organ rejection, graft versus host disease (GvHD) and
various autoimmune diseases.
"The issuance of this patent significantly extends our proprietary position
relating to BTI-322 and MEDI-507 and the particular epitope that the antibodies
target, providing BioTransplant and MedImmune with a strong intellectual
property position as we continue to develop the antibodies and explore
additional applications for these molecules," said Wayne T. Hockmeyer, Ph.D.,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MedImmune.
"The antibodies are important stand-alone compounds and are also being evaluated
as key components in BioTransplant's ImmunoCognance (Trademark) systems for
creating tolerance to transplanted organs: AlloMune (Trademark) for human-to-
human transplants and XenoMune (Trademark) for pig-to-human transplants," said
Elliot Lebowitz, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of BioTransplant.
BTI-322 was initially discovered by Drs. Herve Bazin and Dominique Latinne at
the Experimental Immunology Unit of the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium,
and was subsequently licensed to BioTransplant and sublicensed to MedImmune.
Both MEDI-507 and BTI-322 bind specifically to the CD2 antigen found on T cells
and natural killer (NK) cells.
BioTransplant Incorporated is developing proprietary pharmaceuticals and organ
transplantation systems, which represent a comprehensive approach to inducing
long-term functional transplantation tolerance in humans. BioTransplant's
product candidates, which utilize BioTransplant's ImmunoCognance (Trademark)
technology, are intended to reduce or eliminate the need for lifelong
immunosuppressive therapy, increase the supply of transplantable organs and
reduce the cost of treating end-stage organ disease.
MedImmune, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on developing and marketing
products for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and for use in
transplantation medicine. MedImmune currently markets three products through
its hospital-based sales force and has four new product candidates in clinical
trials. In October 1995, MedImmune and BioTransplant established a strategic
alliance for development of BTI-322 and any future generation products, such as
MEDI-507, for use in organ transplantation and other indications. MedImmune is
located in Gaithersburg, MD.
This press release includes forward-looking statements based on the current
expectations of the management of BioTransplant and MedImmune. Factors that
could cause future results to differ materially from such forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to: the companies' ability to secure
future funding; the progress of the companies' research and development programs
and difficulties inherent in developing pharmaceuticals and procedures for organ
transplantation; uncertainties as to the extent of future government regulation
of the transplantation business; and the companies' ability to maintain
collaborations with third parties. For a detailed discussion of these and other
factors, see the companies' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
(REGISTRANT) MEDIMMUNE, INC.
BY (SIGNATURE) /s/ David M. Mott
(NAME AND TITLE) David M. Mott, Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer
(DATE) October 9, 1998
