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Lonza and Biowa sign license agreements with FivePrime Therapeutics

Posted: 13 June 2012 | | No comments yet

Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. (“FivePrime”) has entered into research and commercial agreements with BioWa, Inc. and Lonza to use their POTELLIGENT® CHOK1SV Cell Line for the research, development and production of multiple proprietary antibodies in FivePrime’s oncology pipeline.

POTELLIGENT® CHOK1SV is a host cell line for manufacturing recombinant antibodies that combines the power of BioWa’s engineered glycosylation POTELLIGENT® Technology with the advantages of Lonza’s proprietary GS Gene Expression System™, which includes the industry-leading CHOK1SV cell line.

“We are pleased to offer the POTELLIGENT® CHOK1SV Cell Line as a key component to therapeutic antibody development,” said Janet White, Head of Lonza Development Services. “We look forward to supporting FivePrime’s R&D and clinical programs with this new strategic collaboration.”

“We are pleased that the value of our POTELLIGENT® Technology continues to be recognized by innovative companies such as FivePrime for their biotherapeutic programs in oncology,” said Yasunori Yamaguchi, PhD, President and CEO of BioWa.

“The combination of the clinical validation seen with other POTELLIGENT® antibodies and the track record of the GS cell line were key to our decision to select this system to enhance the potential for therapeutic efficacy of our emerging pipeline of antibodies in oncology,” said Michael Kavanaugh, MD, Senior Vice President, Research and Development of FivePrime.

The POTELLIGENT® CHOK1SV Cell Line retains the desirable features of a high-producing cell line (robust, high-yielding, scalable), with the advantage of a proven bioprocess platform for the CHOK1SV cell line. Antibodies produced by this cell line exhibit enhanced antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and can exert potent cytotoxic effects even when their target antigen is low. In addition, they work in whole blood and retain all other desirable features of common antibodies.

The POTELLIGENT® CHOK1SV cell line is available under a license to Lonza customers as an option in cell line construction service offering. For more information email [email protected].

About the GS Gene Expression System™

The GS Gene Expression System™, which is owned and licensed by Lonza, is used for the production of therapeutic recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies. Over 100 biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and over 75 academic laboratories worldwide are successfully using the GS Gene Expression System™ which has established itself as the industry standard. This system is characterized by its speed and ease of use. In addition, the higher yielding cell lines provide cost-efficient production of therapeutic proteins.

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