Y's Therapeutics and Abmaxis Announce Antibody Collaboration
Therapeutic Focus on Tumors
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and TOKYO. Y's Therapeutics Co., Ltd. and Abmaxis, Inc., both privately held biopharmaceutical companies, have entered into an agreement to collaborate on the development of a human monoclonal antibody drug targeting a specific antigen, which is overexpressed in many types of tumors. The antigen is also associated with autoimmune diseases. Under the terms of the agreement, Abmaxis will discover high affinity, human antibodies specific to the antigen and Y's will undertake further development of the product. Abmaxis will have rights to manufacture and market the antibody in China while Y's Therapeutics retains these rights in the U.S., Europe, Japan and the rest of the world. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We believe that targeting this specific antigen, which has been extensively studied by Y's Therapeutics scientific co-founder Dr. Chikao Morimoto, will have great potential in the treatment of autoimmune disease and cancers such as T-cell lymphoma and liver tumors that have been very difficult to treat," stated Mr. Masanori Murayama, Co-founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Y's Therapeutics. "We are very favorably impressed by the Abmaxis AISIM(TM) technology platform, which has already generated a number of humanized antibody candidates, expressed with excellent yields and stability, with high affinities suitable for therapeutic applications. We look forward to working with Abmaxis in our quest to deliver therapeutic antibodies to patients as quickly as possible."
Dr. Chikao Morimoto, the scientific Co-founder of Y's Therapeutics and a member of its Scientific Advisory Board, is a Research Professor at the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center and is a Professor of Medicine at the Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Japan. An internationally recognized expert in the field of immunology, Dr. Morimoto previously held academic appointments at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.
"We have a high degree of confidence in the potential drug development capability of Y's Therapeutics. We are pleased that Y's Therapeutics has selected Abmaxis to develop therapeutic antibodies targeted to their antigen, and we are eager to work with Y's Therapeutics and Dr. Morimoto, a world-renown expert in molecularly targeted drugs," commented Shirley Liu Clayton, Chief Executive Officer of Abmaxis. "From our proprietary library of sequence/structure information, we have the ability to custom design an antibody for their specific therapeutic requirements and to rapidly identify the optimal antibody."
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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
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
