Zumutor Biologics Inc. is an immuno-oncology company focusing on novel monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapeutics against innate immunity targets.
Per the partnering agreement, the contract research organization (CRO) Syngene will screen target antigens against Zumutor’s human antibody libraries to identify and characterize novel antibody clones – which it will further develop towards novel biotherapeutics programs.
“Syngene has been collaborating with Zumutor for over a year, providing immuno-oncology services. During the course of this collaboration, we got a better understanding of Zumutor’s proprietary human library platform that complemented our existing capabilities in antibody discovery,” said Manoj Nerurkar, PhD, COO, Syngene International.
“Through this partnership, we saw an opportunity to provide greater value-added services to our global clients,” he told us.
Nerurkar said the company does not anticipate any additional investments for this partnership.
Investment and expansion
In March of this year, Syngene secured a multi-year agreement with GSK through which the companies will focus on accelerating the discovery of new drug candidates using the CRO’s discovery services platform.
As part of the agreement, Sygene said it would be establishing a customized discovery research laboratory to support the projects.
Additionally, following an expanded research collaboration with Amgen in 2017, the CRO announced an expansion to double the footprint of its research and development center in Bangalore, India.