Ablynx has received a $533,600 milestone payment triggered by the approval of an IND application for the Phase I trial for a Nanobody licensed to Novartis. This is the first development candidate resulting from the licensing agreement between the two companies from July 2010. Under the agreement, Novartis obtained licenses to develop and commercialize Nanobodies against two targets.

Since July 2010, Novartis has full responsibility for the continued development of both programs and Ablynx is eligible to receive development-based milestone payments and royalties on sales following commercialization of the products.

Dr. Edwin Moses, chief executive officer and chairman of Ablynx, said, “We are excited that Novartis has obtained IND approval and that they will bring this first Nanobody into clinical development in an oncology setting. This development candidate demonstrates the power of the Nanobody platform in addressing complex target classes that are challenging to address with conventional antibodies.”