Genmab Announces Broad Antibody Development Collaboration With Roche
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Genmab A/S (CSE: GEN and Neuer Markt: GE9D) announced today a broad collaboration with Roche for the creation and development of human antibody therapeutic products for life threatening and debilitating diseases. Roche will have access to Genmab's antibody development capabilities, as well as its pre-clinical and clinical development capabilities. Under the terms of the agreement, Genmab expects to receive milestones as well as royalty payments on successful products. In certain circumstances, Genmab could obtain rights to develop products based on disease targets identified by Roche.
Using the UltiMAb(TM) human antibody platform, Genmab's research team, led by Chief Scientific Officer Jan van de Winkel, Ph.D., will create novel human antibodies to disease targets identified by Roche. Dr. van de Winkel, and his team will also employ Genmab's extensive array of pre-clinical assays, including both laboratory and animal models, to assist in the pre-clinical development of the antibody products. The first three targets have already been identified and these projects will proceed under the direction of a joint Roche-Genmab Research Committee.
``This agreement with Roche is based on the combination of our world class organization and our state of the art human antibody technology,'' said Lisa N. Drakeman, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Genmab. ``We are excited to work together with Roche and believe this collaboration is valuable to Genmab in a number of areas, including the potential for both future revenues and expanding our product portfolio.''
``In several of the disease areas which are in the focus of our research we are working on targets appropriate for antibody therapy. Genmab with its broad experience in the development of human antibodies is therefore an ideal partner for us,'' said Prof. Klaus Strein, Head of Pharmaceutical Research Penzberg, Roche.
Genmab A/S is a biotechnology company that creates and develops fully human antibodies for the treatment of life-threatening and debilitating diseases. Genmab has four products in development to treat cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions, and intends to assemble a broad portfolio of new therapeutic products arising from research into the human genome. At present, Genmab's commercial opportunities are based upon research conducted at leading international companies, including Immunex Corporation, Oxford GlycoSciences Ltd., Gemini Genomics plc, Eos Biotechnology Inc., and Glaucus Proteomics B.V., as well as in its own laboratories. A broad alliance provides Genmab with access to Medarex Inc.'s array of proprietary technologies, including the UltiMAb(TM) platform for the rapid creation and development of fully human antibodies to virtually any disease target. For more information about Genmab, visit www.genmab.com... |
