Seagen Inc. (formerly Seattle Genetics, Inc.) is an American biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing innovative, empowered monoclonal antibody-based therapies for the treatment of cancer.
The company, headquartered in Bothell, Washington (a suburb of Seattle), is the industry leader in antibody-drug conjugates or ADCs, a technology designed to harness the targeting ability of monoclonal antibodies to deliver cell-killing agents directly to cancer cells.
The company's flagship product Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin)[3] is commercially available for four indications in more than 65 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Japan and members of the European Union.
This approach is intended to spare non-targeted (healthy) cells and thus reduce many of the toxic effects of traditional chemotherapy while potentially enhancing antitumor activity.
The company completed an initial public offering in March 2001, and prior to its acquisition by Pfizer, it was traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol SGEN, and was a component of the Nasdaq-100.