Medarex developed monoclonal antibodiestoCTLA-4 and PD-1, which are proteins on the surface of T cells. T cells attack cancer cells, but CTLA-4 and PD-1 act as "brakes" on the T cell's anti-cancer activities. The monoclonal antibodies bind to these proteins and block them, releasing the T cell to attack cancer cells.[1][2]
Medarex developed some of the first transgenic mice with humanized immune systems, in order to generate fully human antibodies.[6] Many of the on-market monoclonal antibodies have been derived from this platform.[7]
Medarex was founded in 1987 by a group of immunologists at Dartmouth Medical School—Dr. Michael W. Fanger, Dr. Paul M. Guyre, and Dr. Edward D. Ball — who partnered with Donald L. Drakeman and Charles Schaller of Essex Chemical Company, through its venture capital arm Essex Vencap.[citation needed]
Drakeman, a Dartmouth graduate, brought the parties together and served as the company's chief executive officer. The company went public in 1991, with 2,300,000 shares of common stock at $6.10 per share and 2,250,000 Redeemable Warrants offered at its IPO.[8] The company's second president and CEO was Howard H. Pien, succeeding Drakeman in 2007.[9]Genmab was founded as a European spin-off of American Biotech company Medarex in February 1999.[10]
The company was acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2009 for $2.4 billion, which included $300 million in debt, making the payment to Medarex $2.1 billion.[11][12]
^Clinical trial number NCT00094653 for "MDX-010 Antibody, MDX-1379 Melanoma Vaccine, or MDX-010/MDX-1379 Combination Treatment for Patients With Unresectable or Metastatic Melanoma" at ClinicalTrials.gov