"While we are disappointed, we recognized and had advised earlier that termination of the program was one of the likely possibilities," said Russell Howard, Maxygen's chief executive officer. "Tremendous potential remains in the company's portfolio and we look forward to 2008, a key year for our two lead programs, MAXY-G34 and MAXY-VII."
The MAXY-alpha program was fully funded by Roche, with no milestone payments expected in 2007 or 2008. As such, Maxygen expects no near-term impact on its financials as a result of the termination. Upon termination of the agreement, all rights to Maxygen's interferon variant product candidates revert to Maxygen.
MAXY-alpha was designed to be a next-generation alpha interferon for the treatment of Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B virus infections. Alpha interferon is a natural protein that is produced by many cell types, including T-cells and B-cells, macrophages, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and osteoblasts, and is an important component of the anti-viral response, stimulating both macrophages and natural killer (NK) cells.
MAXY-alpha was being developed under a 2003 agreement between Maxygen and Roche to develop novel interferon alpha and beta products for a wide range of indications.
