XOMA Expands BCE Technology License With Crucell
Wednesday October 5, 9:09 am ET
BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 2005--XOMA Ltd. (Nasdaq:XOMA - News) today announced that it has expanded its existing non-exclusive, worldwide license to Crucell N.V. (Euronext, Nasdaq: CRXL) under XOMA's bacterial cell expression (BCE) technology to improve Crucell's position to perform phage display in the field of infectious disease with third party collaborators. Details of the license fee and future milestone and royalty payments to XOMA were not disclosed.
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"XOMA has built an in-depth infrastructure for microbial antibody production, including proprietary capabilities and a strong patent portfolio in bacterial cell expression," said John L. Castello, XOMA's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "With the growing market for antibody therapeutics and the increasing use of phage display for discovering antibodies, our BCE technology assets have become increasingly valuable. This is reflected in the expansion of Crucell's license, as well as in the increasing number of BCE licensees and development-stage products that use our technology."
Bacterial Cell Expression Technology
Bacterial cell expression technology (BCE) is an enabling technology used to discover and screen, as well as develop and manufacture, recombinant proteins and antibodies for commercial purposes. BCE is also an essential technology used in multiple systems for high-throughput screening of antibody domains. Expression of antibodies by phage display technology, for example, depends on the expression and secretion of antibody domains from bacteria as properly folded, functional proteins.
XOMA scientists were the first to demonstrate the secretion of antibody domains directly from the bacterial cells as fully functional, properly folded molecules. XOMA has received ten U.S. patents to date relating to aspects of its BCE system, including six patents that broadly cover the secretion of immunoglobulins from bacteria, including antibody fragments such as Fab and single-chain antibodies. Corresponding foreign patents have also been granted. XOMA's patent estate is applicable to the practice of antibody phage display and other antibody screening applications.
Currently, there are two antibody products in late-stage clinical testing that are manufactured using XOMA's BCE technologies. These are Celltech Group plc's CIMZIA(TM) (certolizumab pegol, CDP-870) anti-TNF alpha antibody fragment, in development for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Crohn's Disease, and Genentech Inc.'s Lucentis(TM) (ranibizumab) antibody fragment to Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). There are many additional products under XOMA licenses in earlier stages of development. To date, XOMA has granted bacterial cell expression licenses to more than 35 companies.
About XOMA
XOMA develops for commercialization antibody and other protein-based biopharmaceuticals, with a therapeutic focus on cancer, immune disorders and infectious diseases. XOMA has a royalty interest in RAPTIVA®, a product marketed worldwide that was developed in collaboration with Genentech. The Company pipeline includes proprietary products along with collaborative product development programs. For more information about XOMA's product pipeline and antibody product development capabilities and technologies, please visit XOMA's website at xoma.com. |
