BioInvent and ThromboGenics Strike Alliance to Jointly Develop Antibody-Based Therapeutics To Pursue Novel Treatments for Vascular Indications
Lund, Sweden and Dublin, Ireland - September 27, 2004 - BioInvent International AB (SAX:BINV) and ThromboGenics Ltd. today announced a long-term collaborative research and licensing agreement to co-develop antibody-based drugs for vascular indications.
This collaboration will bring together a rich portfolio of expertise in the area of antibody discovery, development and manufacturing. BioInvent will contribute its knowledge and experience in antibody discovery, production and immunology. ThromboGenics will contribute its research and clinical development skills in the area of vascular medicine. Both parties will provide core intellectual property based on specific therapeutic targets.
Under the terms of the collaboration, the parties will share costs and revenues equally (where a candidate has been identified prior to collaboration, the revenue split will be 60/40). The initial program will be the co-development of ThromboGenics´ fully human anti-Factor VIII monoclonal antibody, as a novel anticoagulant therapy for numerous indications, including prevention and treatment of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and treatment of atrial fibrillation. The market for anticoagulants is estimated at $4 billion, and is expected to grow to over $6 billion by 2011.
The anti-Factor VIII lead candidate has shown a beneficial partial inhibition of the blood coagulation Factor VIII, even when applied in excess dosage. This indicates well-controlled inhibition of Factor VIII activity with low risk of spontaneous bleeding, thus avoiding the possibility of overdose and the need for patient monitoring. Additionally, experiments to date support that this drug can be given one time for treatment of acute indications, or once-a-month for chronic indications such as atrial fibrillation (all available anticoagulants require daily drug administration). This strongly suggests that a product with an excellent safety profile, with ease of administration and compliance superior to all alternative anticoagulants, can be developed. The next step will be the completion of late-stage preclinical toxicology prior to entering clinical development.
Breakthrough research on Factor VIII inhibition has been led by Professor Marc Jacquemin, M.D., Ph.D., University of Leuven, Belgium. Professor Jacquemin has published extensively on the distinct role of Factor VIII inhibition as a novel approach to anticoagulant therapy.
BioInvent and ThromboGenics are actively pursuing additional projects in the collaboration, and expect to begin new programs in the near future. It is anticipated that BioInvent and ThromboGenics will bring its joint programs through clinical proof-of-concept prior to seeking third party alliances with a pharmaceutical partner.
Commenting on the collaboration, Svein Mathisen, President and CEO of BioInvent, said, "BioInvent is very pleased to be working with people with proven success in developing and researching products in these lucrative market segments. We believe this alliance with ThromboGenics will be an effective way of extending our portfolio of innovative drug development projects.
"The discovery and development of fully human antibodies for treatment of serious diseases has been an important objective in the ThromboGenics research plan, explains Professor Désiré Collen, Chairman and CEO of ThromboGenics, "We expect the collaboration with BioInvent to expedite introduction of several promising new antibody-based candidates into the clinic.
Background information:
BioInvent International AB, listed on the O-list of the Stockholm Exchange (Stockholmsbör-sen) (SAX:BINV), develops antibody-based drugs against diseases where there is a significant unmet medical need.
The antibody segment has strong growth in the pharmaceuticals market. BioInvent is a leading player in this market with its competitive technology platform that covers the chain, from the n-CoDeR antibody library for fast and efficient selection of human antibodies to production in a facility fully approved for manufacturing biological drugs.
Today, BioInvent conducts innovative proprietary drug projects in the areas of AIDS, athero-sclerosis, cancer and diseases of the joints. The scope and strength of BioInvent’s technology platform is also used by partners in the development of new drugs. BioInvent’s partners include ALK Abelló, Antisoma, Celltech, GlaxoSmithKline, ImmunoGen, Igeneon, Orbus and XOMA.
The Company has 102 employees and operates in the Ideon Research Park in Lund.
BioInvent International AB (publ)
Co. reg. no. 556537-7263
Visiting address: Sölvegatan 41
Postal address: SE-223 70 Lund, Sweden
Tel.: +46 (0)46 286 85 50
info@bioinvent.com
www.bioinvent.com
ThromboGenics Ltd. is a privately held company founded in Dublin, Ireland, focused on discovery and development of biotherapeutics for vascular diseases (including heart attack, stroke and peripheral artery disease).
ThromboGenics has exclusive rights to certain therapeutics developed at University of Leuven (Belgium). The Company has research labs in Belgium, via its subsidiary Thromb-X, N.V., and management team located in Ireland, Belgium and the U.S.
ThromboGenics has two programs in clinical development: 1) microplasmin, both as a treatment for retinal disorders and as a neuro-pro-tec-tive thrombolytic agent for stroke and peripheral arterial occlusive disease, and 2) staphylokinase as a thrombolytic agent for acute myocardial infarction. The Company also has five other programs in pre-clinical development with proof-of-principle demonstrated.
ThromboGenics Ltd.
14 Bridgecourt Office Park
Walkinstown Avenue
Dublin 12, Ireland
Tel: +353 (1) 409 7757
www.thrombogenics.com |
