NovImmune Enters Exclusive Antibody Licensing Agreement with GenentechBusiness Wire, 26.07.2010
NovImmune, an antibody-focused research and development biotech
company, announced today that it successfully entered into an exclusive
licensing agreement with Genentech Inc. a member of the Roche
Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) for a proprietary anti-IL-17 fully
human monoclonal antibody, and access to back-up antibodies. Recently,
the IL-17 signaling pathway has received significant academic and
corporate interest as its manipulation may potentially provide new
treatment opportunities for major medical conditions.
The anti-IL-17 antibody was generated by NovImmune's research team
and is currently in late preclinical development. Under the terms of the
agreement NovImmune will receive an upfront payment and is eligible to
receive clinical milestones and royalties on sales. Full
financial terms have not been disclosed.
Jack Barbut, CEO, commented "We believe Genentech is the right partner
for NovImmune for this program. Genentech brings an in-depth
understanding of IL-17 biology and extensive experience in its ability
to potentially identify patient populations that may benefit from such a
compound thus maximizing chances of successful development."
James Sabry, Vice President of Genentech Partnering, said "Genentech is
very pleased to have the opportunity to work with NovImmune on the
development and potential commercialization of this anti-IL-17 antibody.
We are hopeful that it has the potential to benefit patients across a
range of autoimmune diseases."
NovImmune SA
NovImmune SA (?NovImmune') is a drug discovery and development company
with a focus on therapeutic mAbs for inflammatory diseases and
immune-related disorders.
NovImmune has generated, to date, seven proprietary mAbs. The pipeline
is a balance of preclinical and clinical compounds, with a mix of both
clinically validated as well as novel targets. Each of these portfolio
products has the potential to become a medicine for multiple medical
conditions due to the overlapping mechanism of action under laying these
types of diseases.
Three compounds are at this time in clinical development, with the most
advanced in Phase II. The company has currently 70 employees based in
Plan-les-Ouates/Geneva, Switzerland.
For more information please visit our website: www.novimmune.com.
About Genentech
Founded more than 30 years ago, Genentech is a leading biotechnology
company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes
medicines to treat patients with serious or life-threatening medical
conditions. The company, a member of the Roche Group, has headquarters
in South San Francisco, California. For additional information about the
company, please visit http://www.gene.com.
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