Lonza and NovImmune announce manufacturing agreement for clinical grade monoclonal antibodies

23-Feb-2004
Lonza, Basel, and the Geneva-based drug development company NovImmune announced an agreement for the production and supply of clinical grade monoclonal antibody drugs, all the way to market supply. NovImmune develops fully human therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, based on its direct access to both the transgenic mouse technology (hu-mice) and the antibody display technology. This agreement provides Lonza with access to the whole pipeline of NovImmune, a potential for the manufacturing of NovImmune's own products as well as of those developed with or licensed to partners. Lonza will manufacture the products all the way to market. NovImmune gains access to Lonza's development and manufacturing capacity. "We very much look forward to meeting the manufacturing needs of NovImmune and of its partners. The agreement will initially lead to the production of two antibodies and provision of GMP material for clinical trials. Lonza is one of the worlds' leaders in the manufacture of antibodies and is very pleased to have the opportunity to apply its experience to the products which are being developed by NovImmune", said Markus Gemuend, CEO of Lonza Group. "Our manufacturing agreement with Lonza deals with one of the recognized bottlenecks in the development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies" said Jack Barbut, ScD, CEO of NovImmune. "In addition to covering our own immediate manufacturing needs towards phase I and II clinical trials, this agreement offers our future licensing partners an access to manufacturing, for each of our products, all the way to market supply. This adds considerable value to NovImmune's therapeutic antibody program. NovImmune's focus on immune-related diseases and inflammation, is supported by strong immunobiology in house and consequently on unusually stringent biological validation for each of its monoclonal products. In our view, this is an important asset to minimize the risk of subsequent failure in clinical trials."

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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

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