XOMA Ltd. (Nasdaq:XOMA), a leader in the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies, announced today that it has sold its royalty interest in CIMZIA® (certolizumab pegol) marketed by UCB S.A. for $4 million to an undisclosed buyer. The manufacture of CIMZIA is covered by a license to XOMA's Bacterial Cell Expression technology. The licensed U.S. patents will expire in 2014. CIMZIA is a pegylated antibody fragment that targets tumor necrosis factor alpha. It is approved in the U.S. to treat Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis.
"The sale of our royalty interest in CIMZIA provides non-dilutive funding to support the development of XOMA 052 for Type 2 diabetes and other diseases and our preclinical programs," said Steven B. Engle, Chairman and CEO of XOMA.
Antibody engineering drives innovation in drug development