Abzena and UGA Biopharma Partner to Develop a Cell Line Expressing a Biosimilar Therapeutic for Multiple Sclerosis
19 October 2017 - 5:00PM
Business Wire
Abzena plc (AIM: ABZA, 'Abzena' or the 'Group'), the life
sciences group providing integrated solutions and technologies
enabling the development and manufacture of biopharmaceutical
products, and UGA Biopharma GmbH, a cell line development
specialist, announce the completion of the development of a
biosimilar cell line to treat Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
The partnership centred around the development of an NS0 (murine
myeloma) manufacturing cell line, expressing a high quality, fully
biosimilar antibody therapeutic. The cell line was developed and
validated using Abzena’s integrated expert knowledge in cell line
development and bioanalytics and was guided by UGA Biopharma’s
in-depth knowledge and experience in the development of cell lines
for biosimilar drugs.
UGA will join an expanding field of companies looking to
capitalise on the patent expiry of several blockbuster drugs over
the coming years.
The originator therapeutic is undisclosed but it is currently
being used in the treatment of MS. It had worldwide sales of
approximately $1.9bn in 2016.
-Ends-
Notes to Editors
About Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
MS is a chronic condition where the sheath covering nerve fibres
in the brain and spinal cord becomes damaged, slowing or blocking
electrical signals from the brain reaching the eyes, muscles and
other parts of the body. It affects approximately 2.3 million
people worldwide. In the UK, there were 127,000 people with MS in
2010 and that number has been growing by around 2.4% per year, due
to people with MS living longer. In the US, there are in excess of
400,000 people with MS and this rate is growing by 2.6% per
annum.
About Abzena
Abzena (AIM: ABZA) provides proprietary technologies and
complementary services to enable the development and manufacture of
biopharmaceutical products.
The term ‘ABZENA Inside’ is used by Abzena to describe products
that have been created using its proprietary technologies and are
being developed by its partners, and include Composite Human
Antibodies™ and ThioBridge™ Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs). Abzena
has the potential to earn future licence fees, milestone payments
and/or royalties on ‘ABZENA Inside’ products.
Abzena offers the following services and technologies across its
principal sites in Cambridge (UK), San Diego, California (USA) and
Bristol, Pennsylvania (USA):
- Immunology research studies, including
immunogenicity assessment of candidate biopharmaceutical
products;
- Protein engineering to create humanized
antibodies and deimmunised therapeutic proteins;
- Cell line development for the
manufacture of recombinant proteins and antibodies;
- Contract process development and GMP
manufacture of biopharmaceuticals, including monoclonal antibodies
and recombinant proteins for preclinical and clinical studies;
- Contract synthetic chemistry and
bioconjugation research services, focused on antibody-drug
conjugates (ADCs);
- Proprietary site-specific conjugation
technologies and novel payloads for ADC development; and
- GMP manufacturer of ADC linkers,
payloads & combined linker-payloads.
For more information, please see www.abzena.com
About UGA Biopharma
UGA Biopharma is a Germany-based, full contract service
R&D provider in the field of mammalian cell line development.
UGA` s proven core expertise is the development of cell
lines for biosimilar and biotherapeutic manufacturing. The UGA
offering includes:
SERVICES:
- Cell line development of research cell
banks for pharmaceutical manufacturing (different CHO host cell
lines available)
- Upstream process development (USP) and
downstream process development (DSP)
- Contract analytical service
- Tech transfer and process
implementation consulting
- Training in cell line development and
culture techniques
PRODUCTS:
- Ready-to-use research cell
banks for biosimilar manufacturing including fermentation, DSP
and analytical-method protocols
- New cost-effective and GMP-compliant
cell-culture basal media for high yields (chemically defined,
suitable for biopharma production) - free test sample available;
feed A and B in development, launch expected in Q3/2017
- Proprietary CHO host cell line,
expression vectors and CHO mock cell lines available for
out-licensing
For more information, please see www.ugabiopharma.com
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Abzena plcJohn Burt, Chief Executive OfficerorJulian
Smith, Chief Financial Officer+44 1223 903498orInstinctif
PartnersMelanie Toyne Sewell / Alex Shaw+44 20 7457
2020abzena@instinctif.comorUGA Biopharma GmbHLars
Kober,Chief Executive Officer+49 3302 20 24 900
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