Under the terms of the agreement, ChemPartner will take on responsibility for a spectrum of drug discovery activities centred on an integrated antibody drug development program.
Xueming Chan, vice president of biology and antibody research for Shenogen said the company had evaluated a number of prospective partners before deciding to team up with ShangPharma.
“We decided to work with ChemPartner’s biologics services team because they have the required therapeutic antibody drug research and development experience, expertise and people to support our therapeutic antibody program,” he said.
Expeditious
Vice president of ChemPartner’s biologics services department, Chengbin Wu, said the deal would help expedite the company’s established antibody pipeline process.
“Shenogen has a world class management team and exclusive global intellectual property rights on a novel target [ER-alpha 36], and we fully anticipate that ChemPartner’s outsource service will facilitate the rapid advancement of Shenogen’s antibody pipeline projects into development stage and beyond,” he said.
Morphosys teams with Boehringer
Elsewhere, Munich, Germany-based biotech firm, Morphosys put pen to paper in yet another manufacturing agreement for therapeutic antibodies, this time with German pharma giant, Boehringer Ingelheim.
The agreement covers the process development and manufacturing of additional clinical material for Morphosys’s proprietary MOR208 program, along with other drug candidates.
A potent monoclonal anti-CD19 antibody, MOR208 is in development for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
Marlies Sproll, chief scientific officer at Morphosys, said: “Adding an additional supplier to our proprietary development set-up will help prevent any bottlenecks in clinical trial supply in the years ahead. Additionally, establishing a commercial manufacturing process with Boehringer Ingelheim early in the process will clearly increase the value of this program.”
Track record
Commenting on the deal, corporate senior vice president of Boehringer’s biopharmaceuticals division, Simon Sturge, said he believed the deal would prove mutually beneficial for both parties.
“We believe that the combination of Morphosys’s successful track record in the discovery and clinical development of antibody-based therapeutics, and our proven competence in technical development and manufacturing will be an optimal fit,” he said.