Medarex

{{short description|American biopharmaceutical company}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Medarex

| type = Public

| traded_as = {{NASDAQ was|MEDX}}

| industry = Biopharmaceutical

| fate = Acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb

| founded = {{Start date and age|1987}}

| founder = Dr. Michael W. Fanger
Dr. Paul M. Guyre
Dr. Edward D. Ball

| defunct = {{End date and age|2009}}

| hq_location = Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.

| parent = Bristol Myers Squibb

}}

Medarex was an American biopharmaceutical company based in Princeton, New Jersey, with manufacturing facilities in Bloomsbury and Annandale, New Jersey, and research facilities in Milpitas and Sunnyvale, California. In 2009, Medarex was purchased by Bristol Myers Squibb.

Medarex developed monoclonal antibodies to CTLA-4 and PD-1, which are proteins on the surface of T cells. T cells attack cancer cells, but CTLA-4 and PD-1 act as "brakes" on the T cell's anti-cancer activities. The monoclonal antibodies bind to these proteins and block them, releasing the T cell to attack cancer cells.[https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.342.6165.1432 Breakthrough of the Year: Cancer Immunotherapy], Science 20 December 2013, Vol. 342 no. 6165 pp. 1432-1433, DOI: 10.1126/science.342.6165.1432, Jennifer Couzin-Frankel{{ClinicalTrialsGov|NCT00094653|MDX-010 Antibody, MDX-1379 Melanoma Vaccine, or MDX-010/MDX-1379 Combination Treatment for Patients With Unresectable or Metastatic Melanoma}}

Several monoclonal antibodies developed by Medarex have been approved for disease therapy. In 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Simponi, a human monoclonal antibody to tumor necrosis factor alpha co-developed with Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Biotech, for treatment of arthritis.{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2009-05-04/marcial-medarex-a-bright-spot-in-biotechbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140925013507/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2009-05-04/marcial-medarex-a-bright-spot-in-biotechbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 25, 2014|title=Marcial: Medarex, a Bright Spot in Biotech|last=Marcial|first=Gene|website=businessweek.com|date=4 May 2009|access-date= 24 Sep 2014}}

In 2011, the U.S. FDA approved ipilimumab, a monoclonal antibody to CTLA-4, for treatment of metastatic melanoma.

In 2014, the U.S. FDA approved nivolumab, a monoclonal antibody to PD-1, for treatment of advanced melanoma.{{cite web|url=https://news.bms.com/press-release/bristol-myers-squibb-receives-accelerated-approval-opdivo-nivolumab-us-food-and-drug-a|title=Bristol-Myers Squibb Receives Accelerated Approval of Opdivo (nivolumab) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration - BMS Newsroom|website=news.bms.com}} Its use was expanded to the treatment of squamous non-small-cell lung carcinoma in 2015.{{cite web|url=https://www.esmo.org/Oncology-News/FDA-Expands-Approved-Use-of-Nivolumab-to-Squamous-NSCLC|title=FDA Expands Approved Use of Nivolumab to Squamous NSCLC - ESMO|website=www.esmo.org}}

Medarex developed some of the first transgenic mice with humanized immune systems, in order to generate fully human antibodies.{{Cite news|last=Pierson|first=Ransdell|date=2009-07-23|title=Bristol-Myers to buy Medarex for $2.4 billion|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bristolmyers-idUSTRE56M07120090723|access-date=2021-04-14}} Many of the on-market monoclonal antibodies have been derived from this platform.{{Cite web|last=Booth|first=Bruce|title=Human Antibody Discovery: Of Mice And Phage|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucebooth/2017/05/11/human-antibody-discovery-of-mice-and-phage/|access-date=2021-04-14|website=Forbes|language=en}}