Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW - news) and EPIcyte Pharmaceutical, Inc. of San Diego, CA, announced today that they have signed a research and licensing agreement to develop and produce monoclonal antibodies from plants. Monoclonal antibodies are used to prevent and treat human and animal diseases.
``Dow has more than 20 years of experience in manufacturing pharmaceutical products. This agreement represents Dow's expansion of that expertise into biopharmaceutical manufacturing,'' said Carolyn Fritz, global business director of Biotechnology for Dow. ``The collaboration will leverage Dow's expertise in process development, clinical supply, and commercial-scale manufacturing and Dow AgroSciences' strengths in genetic engineering of crops.'' The agreement encompasses a multi-year collaborative research program between the companies, in addition to supply of clinical material by Dow, ultimately transitioning into commercial supply, and licenses from EPIcyte for application of the technology in animal health by Dow AgroSciences (DAS). Dow, on behalf of DAS, will make upfront payments for licensing of EPIcyte's Plantibodies(TM) technology and for milestones on commercialization of products directed towards emerging opportunities for disease prevention to enhance animal health and the safety of the animal-derived human food supply.
``Over the next four years, the companies will commit the equivalent of at least forty fulltime employees to developing products and intellectual property in this arena,'' reported Mich Hein, EPIcyte's president. ``This effort will expand the leadership position of our Plantibodies(TM) technology for production of antibodies and related molecules in plants. In addition to potential income from Dow AgroSciences' Animal Health products and the research and development funding, the commitment of Dow and Dow AgroSciences for manufacturing our initial products will provide EPIcyte's shareholders as much as $50 million in savings on construction and development costs in commercializing our own products.''
``Plant-based systems can provide significant cost advantages over traditional mammalian cell culture systems to produce antibodies,'' said Fritz. Production from plants is anticipated to substantially lower the capital costs, dramatically reduce cost of goods for more complex antibody types and prove scalable to much greater production volumes than current systems for antibody production. ``This new approach to production is expected to increase the utility and application of antibodies for established and innovative uses in human and animal health, as well as certain industrial applications,'' she said.
``We fully intend for this to be an important strategic alliance going forward. Working with Dow and Dow AgroSciences is a great advantage and will move our pipeline of immunoprotectant products to the market faster,'' said Hein. ``Dow is already one of the most efficient manufacturers of intermediates and drug actives for the pharmaceutical industry. This relationship lays to rest for us and our collaborators the question of how these products will be manufactured, allowing us to focus on new product discovery, clinical evaluation and ultimately commercialization.''
Potential for the products in animal health will support a new business area for Dow AgroSciences, according to Pete Siggelko, global director of Biotechnology and Plant Genetics for Dow AgroSciences. ``We intend to develop a series of innovative plant-based products for food safety and animal disease prevention,'' he said. ``The EPIcyte Plantibodies(TM) technology is a key food safety technology platform that we intend to build on. We will first focus on a definitive proof of concept, then follow with an aggressive development effort,'' Siggelko indicated. Products for animal health and food safety could be launched as early as 2006 or 2007.
Dow is a leading science and technology company that provides innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual sales of $19 billion, Dow serves customers in 162 countries and a wide range of markets that are vital to human progress, including food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others. Committed to the principles of sustainable development, Dow and its 39,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental and social responsibilities.
Dow AgroSciences LLC is a global leader in providing pest management and biotechnology products that improve the quality and quantity of the earth's food supply and contribute to the safety, health and quality of life of the world's growing population. Dow AgroSciences has approximately 6,000 people in over 50 countries dedicated to its business, and has worldwide sales of more than $2 billion. Dow AgroSciences is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company.
EPIcyte is a four-year-old company developing antibody-based products for the prevention and treatment of infections. The company currently has five antibody products in development. EPIcyte has extensive intellectual property for production of antibodies in plants licensed from The Scripps Research Institute and has a strategic alliance with Dow AgroSciences/Dow Chemical for product development and manufacturing of its Plantibodies(TM) products. It plans to license or partner its technology in areas outside its product focus. |
