25th Jan 2016 07:00
Abzena plc
Significant licence deal for ThioBridge™ ADC linker technology signed with US biotech partner
Cambridge, UK, 25 January 2016 - Abzena plc (AIM:ABZA), a life sciences group providing services technologies to enable development and manufacture of biopharmaceutical products, has signed a significant licensing deal for its novel site specific ThioBridge™ antibody drug conjugate (ADC) linker technology. The partner is a publicly listed US biotech company that is developing and commercialising oncology therapies, including ADCs.Abzena will receive an intial licence and target nomination fee and has the potential to receive further licence fees and milestone payments of up to $150 million if the partner develops a product for each of three designated targets with the ThioBridge™ technology, as well as royalties on the sale of ThioBridge™ ADC products developed under this agreement.ThioBridge™ is Abzena's proprietary ADC linker technology, which links antibodies and other proteins to drugs.Following a collaborative research programme jointly conducted by Abzena and its partner for the evaluation ofThioBridge™, during which multiple ADC product candidates were evaluated for efficacy and safety in pre-clinnical models, the biotech company has selected a lead product for further development.
Dr John Burt, CEO of Abzena commented:
"Signing a licence for ThioBridge™ with a large US biotech partner is a key milestone for us and a great
endorsement of our proprietary technology and expertise."
"Through the research collaboration, our scientists have built a strong working relationship with our partner and have demonstrated the value of the ThioBridge™ technology in creating novel ADCs. We look forward to continuing to work together as this ADC progresses to and through clinical development."
Enquiries:
Abzena plc John Burt, Chief Executive Officer Julian Smith, Chief Financial Officer | +44 1223 903498 |
Cenkos Securities (Nominated Adviser and Broker) Christopher Golden / Ivonne Cantu | +44 20 7397 8900 |
N+1 Singer (Joint Broker) Aubrey Powell / Liz Yong | +44 20 7496 3000 |
Instinctif Partners Melanie-Toyne Sewell / Rozi Morris | +44 20 7457 2020 |
About Abzena
Abzena provides proprietary technologies and complementary services in the UK and US to enable the development and
manufacture of biopharmaceutical products. The development of biopharmaceuticals is a growing area and requires
specialist technology and expertise.
The Group comprises Antitope, PacificGMP, PolyTherics and TCRS, which between them have built a global customer
base including the majority of the top 20 biopharmaceutical companies as well as large and small biotech companies and
academic groups.
Antitope provides immunogenicity assessment, protein engineering to create humanized antibodies and deimmunised
therapeutic proteins, and cell line development for manufacture.
PacificGMP provides contract process development and manufacture of biopharmaceuticals, including monoclonal
antibodies, recombinant proteins, vaccines, and gene therapy and cell therapy products, for preclinical and clinical studies.
PolyTherics specializes in proprietary site- specific conjugation technologies for antibody drug conjugate development and solutions for optimizing the therapeutic properties of biopharmaceuticals.
TCRS is a contract chemistry and bioconjugation business focused on ADCs and is establishing the capability to
manufacture ADCs to GMP standards.
Abzena (AIM: ABZA) has its main operations in Cambridge, UK, San Diego, CA, US and Bristol, Pennsylvania, US .
For more information, please see www.abzena.com.
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