The antibody is used in cases of rhesus incompatibility between a mother and her foetus. RhD-negative women who carry an RhD-positive foetus may produce antibodies to foetal RhD antigens, triggering an immune response that can result in miscarrige.
Although plasma-derived therapies are available for rhesus incompatability, LFB hope that the relative ease of making its antibody on an industrial scale will help it compete in the already well established market.
Lonza will make supplies of the compound for Phase II trials, which are expected to start later this year, as well as for any Phase III trials that are carried out.
Edward Balbirnie, director of bioproduction at LFB, told Outsourcing-pharma that because the French firm's lead product was reaching a significant development stage, it made sense to partner with a CMO with Lonza's mix of experience and production scale.
He said: "LFB would have looked at several potential partners in the European market" and "Lonza being one of the biggest serving CMO firms in the sector in Europe, it had the appropriate scale of equipment for us."
Balbirnie also highlighted Lonza's experience of working towards FDA approval in the US as well as with European regulators.
“We are very pleased to enter this new collaboration with LFB, a successful French biopharmaceutical company and major player in plasma-derived medicinal products. Supporting LFB in the development of proteins using innovative technologies is exciting and will be the basis for a long-term relationship,” said Stephan Kutzer, head of Lonza Biopharmaceuticals.
Financial details of the agreement are not being disclosed, both firms said.