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What: Shares of biotechnology company, ImmunoGen (Nasdaq: IMGN) moved higher by as much as 12% earlier in the trading session after it's collaborating partner, Roche (OTC: RHHBY), released positive results with regard to trastuzumab emtansine.
So what: Trastuzumab emtansine, previously known as T-DM1, is an experimental drug targeting patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. In phase three results released very early this morning, the Roche and ImmunoGen drug was shown to significantly extend patients' lives when compared to GlaxoSmithKline's (NYSE: GSK) Tykerb, and Roche's own Xeloda. This great news also provided the impetus for Roche to file for a biologics licensing application with the Food and Drug Administration. A filing for marketing approval in Europe is also expected soon.
Now what: ImmunoGen's Targeted Antibody Payload technology has the potential to be the cornerstone combination drug of the future, and the success of trastuzumab emtansine is a key part of that. Aside from Seattle Genetics (Nasdaq: SGEN), whose antibody-drug conjugates essentially do the same thing as ImmunoGen's TAP (attach a toxin to an antibody that will release that toxin when it comes in contact with a specific protein in the targeted cancer cell), there isn't any real competition for this type of drug delivery. ImmunoGen is definitely an exciting company worth keeping your eye on.
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Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.
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