Earnings release
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EXHIBIT 99.1 Agenus Corporate Update and Third Quarter 2021 Financial Report • Clinical results presented at SITC show that AGEN1181 , as a monotherapy and in combination with balstilimab , shows durable responses in 9 cancer types , including patients whose cancers have recurred following PD - 1 therapy • • Agenus will commence Phase 2/3 trials of AGEN1181 and balstilimab in colorectal and several gynecological cancers Agenus ' cell therapy affiliate , MiNK Therapeutics ( NASDAQ : INKT ) , launched as a publicly traded company with > $ 40 million raised to accelerate clinical development • AGEN1777 , an Fc - enhanced TIGIT bispecific antibody , entered Phase 1 development , triggering a $ 20M milestone payment from Bristol Myers Squibb • After successfully achieving clinical milestones and passing FDA inspections , Agenus withdrew its BLA for balstilimab based on FDA guidance ; given the clinical benefit demonstrated by balstilimab , Agenus plans to launch an expanded access program in several countries LEXINGTON , Mass . , Nov. 09 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- Agenus Inc. ( NASDAQ : AGEN ) , an immuno - oncology company with an extensive pipeline of checkpoint antibodies , adjuvants , and vaccines designed to activate immune response to cancers and infections , today provided a corporate update and reported financial results for the third quarter of 2021 . " With more than 100 patients treated with our Fc - enhanced CTLA - 4 antibody , AGEN1181 , we are very encouraged by the clinical responses achieved across tumor types . Of note , we are seeing responses in patients who have failed to respond to all other treatment , including PD - 1 inhibitors , " said Garo Armen , PhD , Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Agenus . " We will be presenting detailed trial results at the SITC conference this week . We have also successfully completed an initial public offering for MiNK Therapeutics , and have launched our adjuvant business , SaponiQx . " AGEN1181 ( Fc - enhanced CTLA - 4 ) , as a monotherapy and in combination with balstilimab ( anti PD - 1 ) , shows clinical benefit in 9 cold and treatment - resistant tumor types ; data to be presented at SITC • First presentation of clinical data from 100+ patients who represent a heavily pre - treated population , and were administered AGEN1181 as a monotherapy or in combination with balstilimab • Evidence of AGEN1181 monotherapy activity with multiple confirmed responses : microsatellite stable ( MSS ) - endometrial cancer ( CR ) , melanoma ( PR ) , cervical cancer ( PR ) , and pancreatic cancer ( PR ) , with the former three responses occurring in tumors which failed to respond to anti - PD - 1 therapy • Additional responses in patients treated with AGEN1181 in combination with balstilimab , including in cold , poorly immunogenic tumors . These include : 。 Microsatellite stable colorectal cancer ( MSS - CRC ) : 2 confirmed PRs , 2 unconfirmed PRs , and 7 stable disease ( SD ) among 17 evaluable patients for a disease control rate of 65 % 。 Gynecological malignancies : 2 PRs , 3 SDs among 6 evaluable ovarian cancer patients ; 1 PR and 1 unconfirmed PR in MSS - endometrial cancer 。 Other tumors : 2 unconfirmed responses in visceral angiosarcoma , and one unconfirmed response in PD - 1- relapsed / refractory NSCLC • Majority of responses are durable and ongoing , with additional data to be presented at SITC on November 12th ( Abstract # 479 ) • Both monotherapy and combination therapy were well tolerated , with no cases of hypophysitis or pneumonitis • Based on these data , Agenus will commence Phase 2/3 trials evaluating AGEN1181 , as a monotherapy and in combination with balstilimab , in colorectal and gynecological cancers MiNK Therapeutics launched an IPO ; its stock is trading on NASDAQ • MiNK Therapeutics launched a successful IPO , raising > $ 40M to support the rapid clinical development of its allogeneic cell therapies • MiNK has three presentations planned at SITC , which will showcase data on clinical - stage , allogeneic , iNKT cell therapy ( AgenT - 797 ) , including clinical persistence and activity , preclinical anti - tumor activity and tissue distribution , as well as the tumor killing potential of engineered iNKT cells generated by leveraging a proprietary CAR platform SaponiQx launch to accelerate development of proven and novel adjuvants , as well as optimized antigen - adjuvant constructs • Will address global need for vaccines offering long - lasting efficacy with secure production , which has been amplified by the current pandemic • QS - 21 Stimulon ™ adjuvant is proven to drive durable immunity - SHINGRIX® ( GSK zoster vaccine , recombinant ) offers protection of > 9 years