Agenus Annual Meeting: BOT/BAL Leads Cancer Drug Push as Balance Sheet Improves

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) told shareholders astatine its 2026 virtual yearly gathering that it remains focused connected advancing its botensilimab and balstilimab immunotherapy combination, known arsenic BOT/BAL, portion moving to fortify its fiscal presumption and prosecute regulatory pathways successful the United States and Europe.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Garo Armen said the past twelvemonth had been "one of the astir important periods" successful the company's history, but besides "one of the astir difficult." He said Agenus had made "hard decisions" to sharpen its absorption astir BOT/BAL, which the institution is processing successful cancers that person historically resisted immunotherapy, including microsatellite stable, oregon MSS, colorectal cancer.

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Armen said the company's cardinal objectives see gathering objective grounds for BOT/BAL, supporting liable diligent entree wherever permitted, moving the programme into randomized signifier 3 development, advancing regulatory plans successful the U.S. and Europe, and strengthening the company's equilibrium expanse and operating foundation.

BOT/BAL Remains Lead Development Focus

Armen described BOT/BAL arsenic a operation of an Fc-engineered CTLA-4 antibody and a PD-1 antibody, saying Agenus does not presumption the regimen arsenic "simply different CTLA-4 and PD-1 doublet." He said botensilimab was designed to assistance activate a broader immune response, including by priming T cells, reducing suppressive regulatory T cells, engaging myeloid cells and supporting immune memory.

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Across signifier 1 and signifier 2 trials, Armen said astir 1,300 patients person been treated with botensilimab and balstilimab, with objective enactment observed successful much than 9 metastatic late-line crab settings. The company's astir mature information stay successful refractory MSS metastatic colorectal cancer, which Armen said continues to beryllium Agenus' pb regulatory improvement focus.

In heavy pretreated MSS metastatic colorectal crab patients without progressive liver metastases, Armen said BOT/BAL has demonstrated 42% two-year wide endurance and median wide endurance of astir 21 months. He said the institution has besides observed enactment crossed aggregate difficult-to-treat tumors, including colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, sarcoma, lung cancer, hepatocellular crab and refractory oregon resistant melanoma.

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Agenus Chief Medical Officer Dr. Steven O'Day said melanoma information presented astatine ASCO included 36 refractory metastatic patients, with a confirmed RECIST wide effect complaint of 22%. In a subgroup that had failed CTLA-4 and PD-1 therapy, helium said the effect complaint was 29%, with endurance plateaus betwixt 40% and 60% aft the information were allowed to mature for astatine slightest 2 and a fractional years.