Immunologix and Davospharma enter strategic alliance
Provider of human therapeutic antibodies teams with provider of custom chemistry and pharmaceutical services
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UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J.—Under a deal announced today, Charleston, S.C.-based Immunologix Inc. and DavosPharma, a provider of discovery, chemistry and formulation services, will represent and market all of the human antibodies produced by Immunologix.
Immunologix specializes in transforming naïve B-cells to produce 100 percent human monoclonal antibodies that it says can target any and all antigens including, but not limited to cancer, viruses, bacteria and toxins—as well as autoimmune diseases like diabetes, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
The companies' leaders believe they have a good pairing, in part because Immunologix and its in-vitro system offer what they call a "paradigm shift" in the way antibodies are derived, with the company collecting patient-consented explanted tonsil tissue following tonsillectomies. This allows Immunologix to capture billions of cells from each tonsil and processes them in its laboratory at the new SCRA Innovation Center in Charleston.
The other part of that good fit between the two is found in the "excellent reputation" DavosPharma claims in building, over nearly 40 years, a history of evaluating, coordinating and delivering chemistry through strategic partners—what it calls "well-vetted, cGMP custom manufacturers in the EU, North America and Asia." DavosPharma boasts a team that it says includes some of the industry's most qualified and talented chemists, pharmacists, project managers and pharmaceutical marketing experts, maintain that its "success in managing complex activities and timelines for exceptional pharmaceutical development is unparalleled in the industry." Furthermore, the company notes, it can, from its portfolio of CRO partners, provide "a fully integrated development and manufacturing capability that can be tailored to clients' needs."
Dr. Ryan Fiorini, founder and chief operating officer of Immunologix, says the relationship began with discussions in December 2010 and has been building steadily in the several months since them.
"Together, the companies will offer customers complete transparency. The partnership allows both parties to offer their clients a platform to 100 percent human monoclonal antibody ready for clinical trials," Fiorini says. "It will help in bringing our game-changing technology to the pharmaceutical marketplace."
"The Immunologix platform of technology offers a new paradigm for therapeutic antibody discovery, development, and manufacturing," says Barry Robins, president of DavosPharma. "Our customers will understand that the ability to identify and produce a 100 percent human monoclonal antibody in less than six months with less adverse side effects is an extremely significant differentiator. The technology that we now offer through this strategic alliance will have an immediate impact on shorter development times, costs, and reduction of adverse effects due to immunogenicity which often derail therapeutic antibody programs. Many of our existing clients will be very interested in adopting this technology."
The deal is yet another step in the Immunologix's progression this year following a January announcement that the company had successfully delivered a fully human antibody targeting an autophagy-associated protein to one of its clients, related to a number of therapeutic areas including, but not limited to, cancer and degenerative diseases. In February, the company's scientists published an article in the MABS Journal, titled "A Novel Platform to Produce Human Monoclonal Antibodies; The Next Generation of Therapeutic Human Monoclonal Antibody Production" that gave some public exposure to their technology. And, in April, the company noted that it had teamed up with CRO American International Biotechnology Services (AI BioTech) to provide fundamental laboratory support services and providing that that AI Biotech will design and provide the clients custom immunogen to Immunologix for screening of their fully human libraries to select therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies for third-party clients.
Immunologix specializes in transforming naïve B-cells to produce 100 percent human monoclonal antibodies that it says can target any and all antigens including, but not limited to cancer, viruses, bacteria and toxins—as well as autoimmune diseases like diabetes, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
The companies' leaders believe they have a good pairing, in part because Immunologix and its in-vitro system offer what they call a "paradigm shift" in the way antibodies are derived, with the company collecting patient-consented explanted tonsil tissue following tonsillectomies. This allows Immunologix to capture billions of cells from each tonsil and processes them in its laboratory at the new SCRA Innovation Center in Charleston.
The other part of that good fit between the two is found in the "excellent reputation" DavosPharma claims in building, over nearly 40 years, a history of evaluating, coordinating and delivering chemistry through strategic partners—what it calls "well-vetted, cGMP custom manufacturers in the EU, North America and Asia." DavosPharma boasts a team that it says includes some of the industry's most qualified and talented chemists, pharmacists, project managers and pharmaceutical marketing experts, maintain that its "success in managing complex activities and timelines for exceptional pharmaceutical development is unparalleled in the industry." Furthermore, the company notes, it can, from its portfolio of CRO partners, provide "a fully integrated development and manufacturing capability that can be tailored to clients' needs."
Dr. Ryan Fiorini, founder and chief operating officer of Immunologix, says the relationship began with discussions in December 2010 and has been building steadily in the several months since them.
"Together, the companies will offer customers complete transparency. The partnership allows both parties to offer their clients a platform to 100 percent human monoclonal antibody ready for clinical trials," Fiorini says. "It will help in bringing our game-changing technology to the pharmaceutical marketplace."
"The Immunologix platform of technology offers a new paradigm for therapeutic antibody discovery, development, and manufacturing," says Barry Robins, president of DavosPharma. "Our customers will understand that the ability to identify and produce a 100 percent human monoclonal antibody in less than six months with less adverse side effects is an extremely significant differentiator. The technology that we now offer through this strategic alliance will have an immediate impact on shorter development times, costs, and reduction of adverse effects due to immunogenicity which often derail therapeutic antibody programs. Many of our existing clients will be very interested in adopting this technology."
The deal is yet another step in the Immunologix's progression this year following a January announcement that the company had successfully delivered a fully human antibody targeting an autophagy-associated protein to one of its clients, related to a number of therapeutic areas including, but not limited to, cancer and degenerative diseases. In February, the company's scientists published an article in the MABS Journal, titled "A Novel Platform to Produce Human Monoclonal Antibodies; The Next Generation of Therapeutic Human Monoclonal Antibody Production" that gave some public exposure to their technology. And, in April, the company noted that it had teamed up with CRO American International Biotechnology Services (AI BioTech) to provide fundamental laboratory support services and providing that that AI Biotech will design and provide the clients custom immunogen to Immunologix for screening of their fully human libraries to select therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies for third-party clients.
