ImmunoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN) is a biotechnology company focused on the development of antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. ImmunoGen was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.
An ImmunoGen ADC contains a manufactured antibody that binds to a target found on cancer cells, with one of the company’s potent cell-killing agents attached as a “payload”. The antibody serves to deliver the cell-killing agent specifically to cancer cells bearing its target and the payload serves to kill these cells. In some cases, the antibody also has anticancer activity.
The company also selectively outlicenses limited use of its technology to other companies. Companies licensing ImmunoGen’s technology include Amgen, Bayer HealthCare, Biotest, Genentech/Roche, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Sanofi, and Takeda.[4] Roche’s Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine) utilizes ImmunoGen’s ADC technology. It has been approved and launched in a number of countries, including the US, where it is marketed by Genentech, a member of the Roche Group.[8][9] In October 2015, the company disclosed that Kadcyla had failed to meet its primary endpoint in the Phase II/III GATSBY trial investigating the second line treatment of HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer.