License, Research and Other Agreements	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Research And Development [Abstract]
License, Research, and Other Agreements	(12) License, Research, and Other Agreements On December 5, 2014, Agenus Switzerland, entered into a license agreement with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Ltd., or Ludwig, which replaced and superseded a prior agreement entered into between the parties in May 2011. Pursuant to the terms of the license agreement, Ludwig granted Agenus Switzerland an exclusive, worldwide license under certain intellectual property rights of Ludwig and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center arising from the prior agreement to further develop and commercialize GITR, OX40 and TIM-3 antibodies. On January 25, 2016, we and Agenus Switzerland entered into a second license agreement with Ludwig, on substantially similar terms, to develop CTLA-4 and PD-1 antibodies. Pursuant to the December 2014 license agreement, Agenus Switzerland made an upfront payment of $1.0 million to Ludwig. The December 2014 license agreement also obligates Agenus Switzerland to make potential milestone payments of up to $20.0 million for events prior to regulatory approval of licensed GITR, OX40 and TIM-3 products, and potential milestone payments in excess of $80.0 million if such licensed products are approved in multiple jurisdictions, in more than one indication, and certain sales milestones are achieved. Under the January 2016 license agreement, we are obligated to make potential milestone payments of up to $12.0 million for events prior to regulatory approval of CTLA-4 and PD-1 licensed products, and potential milestone payments of up to $32.0 million if certain sales milestones are achieved. Under each of these license agreements, we and/or Agenus Switzerland will also be obligated to pay low to mid-single digit royalties on all net sales of licensed products during the royalty period, and to pay Ludwig a percentage of any sublicensing income, ranging from a low to mid-double digit percentage depending on various factors. During the year ended December 31, 2017, we paid a percentage of sublicensing income totaling $2.0 million to Ludwig under the license agreements. No payments were made during the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2019, respectively. The license agreements may each be terminated as follows: (i) by either party if the other party commits a material, uncured breach; (ii) by either party if the other party initiates bankruptcy, liquidation or similar proceedings; or (iii) by Agenus Switzerland or us (as applicable) for convenience upon 90 days’ prior written notice. The license agreements also contain customary representations and warranties, mutual indemnification, confidentiality and arbitration provisions. In connection with the December 2015 acquisition of PhosImmune, we obtained exclusive rights to a portfolio of patent applications and one issued patent relating to phosphopeptide tumor targets (PTTs) under a patent license agreement with the University of Virginia (“UVA”). The UVA license gives us exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the PTT technology and an exclusive option to license any further PTT technology arising from ongoing research at UVA until December 2018. Under the license agreement, we will pay low to mid-single digit running royalties on net sales of PTT products, and a modest flat percentage of sublicensing income. In addition, we may be obligated to make milestone payments of up to $2.7 million for each indication of a licensed PTT product to complete clinical trials and achieve certain sales thresholds. If we fail to meet certain diligence milestones, we may also be required to pay penalties in excess of $150,000. The term of the UVA license agreement ends when the last of the licensed patents expires or becomes no longer valid. As of March 2020, the last granted patent that is licensed to us by UVA will expire in late 2033, and there are currently pending patent applications that, if granted, will not expire until mid-2037. The UVA license agreement may be terminated as follows: (i) by UVA in connection with our bankruptcy or cessation of business relating to the licensed technology, (ii) by UVA if we commit a material, uncured breach or (iii) by us for our convenience on 180 days written notice. We have entered into various agreements with contract manufacturers, institutions, and clinical research organizations (collectively "third party providers") to perform pre-clinical activities and to conduct and monitor our clinical studies. Under these agreements, subject to the enrollment of patients and performance by the applicable third-party provider, we have estimated our total payments to be $319.8 million over the term of the studies. For the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, $87.7 million, $41.5 million, and $35.8 million, respectively, have been expensed in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations related to these third-party providers. Through December 31, 2019, we have expensed $254.0 million as research and development expenses and $239.6 million of this amount has been paid. The timing of expense recognition and future payments related to these agreements is subject to the enrollment of patients and performance by the applicable third-party provider.

License, Research and Other Agreements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

(12) License, Research, and Other Agreements

On December 5, 2014, Agenus Switzerland, entered into a license agreement with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Ltd., or Ludwig, which replaced and superseded a prior agreement entered into between the parties in May 2011. Pursuant to the terms of the license agreement, Ludwig granted Agenus Switzerland an exclusive, worldwide license under certain intellectual property rights of Ludwig and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center arising from the prior agreement to further develop and commercialize GITR, OX40 and TIM-3 antibodies. On January 25, 2016, we and Agenus Switzerland entered into a second license agreement with Ludwig, on substantially similar terms, to develop CTLA-4 and PD-1 antibodies. Pursuant to the December 2014 license agreement, Agenus Switzerland made an upfront payment of $1.0 million to Ludwig. The December 2014 license agreement also obligates Agenus Switzerland to make potential milestone payments of up to $20.0 million for events prior to regulatory approval of licensed GITR, OX40 and TIM-3 products, and potential milestone payments in excess of $80.0 million if such licensed products are approved in multiple jurisdictions, in more than one indication, and certain sales milestones are achieved. Under the January 2016 license agreement, we are obligated to make potential milestone payments of up to $12.0 million for events prior to regulatory approval of CTLA-4 and PD-1 licensed products, and potential milestone payments of up to $32.0 million if certain sales milestones are achieved. Under each of these license agreements, we and/or Agenus Switzerland will also be obligated to pay low to mid-single digit royalties on all net sales of licensed products during the royalty period, and to pay Ludwig a percentage of any sublicensing income, ranging from a low to mid-double digit percentage depending on various factors. During the year ended December 31, 2017, we paid a percentage of sublicensing income totaling $2.0 million to Ludwig under the license agreements. No payments were made during the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2019, respectively. The license agreements may each be terminated as follows: (i) by either party if the other party commits a material, uncured breach; (ii) by either party if the other party initiates bankruptcy, liquidation or similar proceedings; or (iii) by Agenus Switzerland or us (as applicable) for convenience upon 90 days’ prior written notice. The license agreements also contain customary representations and warranties, mutual indemnification, confidentiality and arbitration provisions.

In connection with the December 2015 acquisition of PhosImmune, we obtained exclusive rights to a portfolio of patent applications and one issued patent relating to phosphopeptide tumor targets (PTTs) under a patent license agreement with the University of Virginia (“UVA”). The UVA license gives us exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the PTT technology and an exclusive option to license any further PTT technology arising from ongoing research at UVA until December 2018. Under the license agreement, we will pay low to mid-single digit running royalties on net sales of PTT products, and a modest flat percentage of sublicensing income. In addition, we may be obligated to make milestone payments of up to $2.7 million for each indication of a licensed PTT product to complete clinical trials and achieve certain sales thresholds. If we fail to meet certain diligence milestones, we may also be required to pay penalties in excess of $150,000. The term of the UVA license agreement ends when the last of the licensed patents expires or becomes no longer valid. As of March 2020, the last granted patent that is licensed to us by UVA will expire in late 2033, and there are currently pending patent applications that, if granted, will not expire until mid-2037. The UVA license agreement may be terminated as follows: (i) by UVA in connection with our bankruptcy or cessation of business relating to the licensed technology, (ii) by UVA if we commit a material, uncured breach or (iii) by us for our convenience on 180 days written notice.

We have entered into various agreements with contract manufacturers, institutions, and clinical research organizations (collectively "third party providers") to perform pre-clinical activities and to conduct and monitor our clinical studies. Under these agreements, subject to the enrollment of patients and performance by the applicable third-party provider, we have estimated our total payments to be $319.8 million over the term of the studies. For the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, $87.7 million, $41.5 million, and $35.8 million, respectively, have been expensed in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations related to these third-party providers. Through December 31, 2019, we have expensed $254.0 million as research and development expenses and $239.6 million of this amount has been paid. The timing of expense recognition and future payments related to these agreements is subject to the enrollment of patients and performance by the applicable third-party provider.