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Exhibit 99.1
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For Immediate Contact: Donald L. Drakeman Kim Cayz
Release President and CEO Director
--------------- Medarex, Inc. Corporate
609-430-2880 Communications
Aventis
Kelly O'Brien 1-610-878-4822
Middleberg Euro
for Medarex, Inc.
212-699-2541
[email protected]
Medarex and Aventis Behring Announce Positive Clinical Trial Results for New
Autoimmune Disease Drug
Princeton, NJ and King of Prussia, PA, December 4, 2000 - Medarex, Inc. (Nasdaq:
MEDX) and Aventis Behring L.L.C. today announced positive results from a Phase
II clinical trial in which a new therapy appears to be promising in treating an
increasingly common autoimmune disease, Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura
(ITP). The data were presented yesterday at the Annual Meeting of the American
Society of Hematology in San Francisco, CA.
Researchers conducted a dose escalating, double blind, randomized, placebo
controlled, parallel-multicenter study on thirty adults with chronic ITP. The
data suggested MDX-33 was well tolerated in adult subjects with chronic ITP, and
a single dose of MDX-33 appeared to substantially elevate platelet counts in all
patients treated with the optimal dose. Mild to moderate adverse events were
noted including occasional headache and flu-like symptoms.
MDX-33 is being developed through a corporate alliance between Medarex and
Aventis Behring. MDX-33 is a humanized monoclonal antibody that is being
evaluated to assess its ability to diminish the activity of monocytes,
macrophages or other white blood cells that can destroy healthy platelets.
"This trial demonstrates that MDX-33 may be effective in increasing platelet
counts
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in patients suffering from ITP. As the number of people diagnosed with
this disease continues to grow every year, it is crucial to find new, improved
treatments to help patients treat this disease," said Dr. Ruedi Waeger, Chief
Executive Officer, Aventis Behring L.L.C. "Aventis Behring is committed to
providing doctors and patients with the next generation of therapeutic choices."
"We are pleased to announce the encouraging results of our Phase II clinical
trials in conjunction with Aventis Behring, our business partner. We look
forward to the next steps in our clinical program which will hopefully bring us
even closer to developing a new treatment for ITP," said Donald L. Drakeman,
President and Chief Executive Officer, Medarex.
It is estimated that approximately 100,000 people in the U.S. are afflicted with
ITP, and each year approximately 20,000 new patients are being identified
worldwide. Often associated with autoimmune diseases, ITP is a condition where
white blood cells destroy platelets. If uncontrolled, the resulting platelet
deficiency can lead to bleeding, hemorrhage or other hematological disorders
that can be life-threatening. Current methods of treating ITP can result in
severe adverse reactions, and up to one-third of chronic ITP patients may not
react to current therapy.
Medarex is a biopharmaceutical company developing monoclonal antibody-based
therapeutics to fight cancer and other life-threatening and debilitating
diseases. Medarex has assembled a broad platform of patented technologies for
antibody discovery and development, including the HuMAb-Mouse/(R)/ and TC Mouse
systems for the creation of high-affinity, fully human antibodies; T-12
Development/SM/ offering the potential to move from target to trial in
approximately 12 months; and Trans-Phage Technology/SM /combining high
throughput screening with fully human antibody development. Medarex creates and
develops fully human antibodies for itself and others, offering a full range of
antibody development capabilities, including pre-clinical and clinical
manufacturing services. For more information about Medarex, visit its web site
at www.medarex.com.
Aventis Behring L.L.C. is a global leader in the therapeutic protein industry,
providing a wide range of innovative, high-quality therapies and unique support
services to patients worldwide. Aventis Behring is dedicated to the research
and development of proteins from human blood plasma and emerging technologies.
For more information about Aventis Behring, please visit www.aventisbehring.com.
Aventis Behring is the therapeutic protein business of Aventis Pharma AG.
Aventis Pharma AG is the pharmaceutical subsidiary of Aventis S.A. Aventis
(NYSE: AVE) is a world leader in life sciences. Focused on two core business
areas --pharmaceuticals and agriculture -- Aventis is dedicated to improving
life through
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the discovery and development of innovative products in the fields
of prescription drugs, vaccines, therapeutic proteins, crop production and
protection, animal health and nutrition. With global corporate headquarters in
Strasbourg, France, Aventis employs around 95,000 people in more than 120
countries and recorded pro forma sales in 1999 of 20.5 billion euros. Aventis
was launched in December 1999 through the merger of Hoechst AG of Germany and
Rhone-Poulenc SA of France. For more information: www.aventis.com.
Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in
this press release are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include risks associated with
product discovery and development as well as risks detailed from time to time in
the companies' public disclosure filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), including each company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 1999. Copies of each company's respective public
disclosure filings are available from each company's investor relations
department. There can be no assurance that such development efforts will
succeed, that such products will receive required regulatory clearance or that,
even if such regulatory clearance were received, such products would ultimately
achieve commercial success.
TC Mouse is a trademark of Kirin Brewing Co., Ltd.
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