Biovation Signs Research Agreement With Centocor

08-Jul-2003

Biovation Limited of Aberdeen, UK, a Merck KGaA group company, today announced the signing of a research agreement with Centocor Inc., under which Biovation will apply its proprietary DeImmunisation technology to novel therapeutic proteins designed by Centocor. Biovation will receive research revenues and, in the event Centocor selects proteins for further development, could earn license fees, milestone payments and royalties on future product sales.

Dr. Frank Carr, President and Chief Executive Officer of Biovation, commented, "We are delighted to be working with Centocor, a pioneer in the immunotherapy of human diseases. This is an excellent opportunity for us to extend the application of DeImmunisation and produce further clinical products."

DeImmunisation represents an entirely different approach to reducing immunogenicity. The technology addresses a major driver of immunogenicity in therapeutic antibodies and proteins, namely T cell epitopes. The DeImmunisation technology involves the identification and removal of T cell epitopes from the molecule. Since potentially immunogenic regions of the molecule are removed by single amino acid substitutions, immunogenicity can be eliminated while retaining the properties of the starting molecule.

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Topic world Antibodies

Antibodies are specialized molecules of our immune system that can specifically recognize and neutralize pathogens or foreign substances. Antibody research in biotech and pharma has recognized this natural defense potential and is working intensively to make it therapeutically useful. From monoclonal antibodies used against cancer or autoimmune diseases to antibody-drug conjugates that specifically transport drugs to disease cells - the possibilities are enormous

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Topic world Antibodies

Antibodies are specialized molecules of our immune system that can specifically recognize and neutralize pathogens or foreign substances. Antibody research in biotech and pharma has recognized this natural defense potential and is working intensively to make it therapeutically useful. From monoclonal antibodies used against cancer or autoimmune diseases to antibody-drug conjugates that specifically transport drugs to disease cells - the possibilities are enormous