AbCheck S.r.o.
AbCheck Antibody Discovery Deal with Pierre Fabre

AbCheck Antibody Discovery Deal with Pierre Fabre

Plzen, Czech Republic; April 2^nd, 2014: AbCheck s.r.o., the multi antibody discovery platforms company, announced today that it has entered into a research collaboration with Pierre Fabre, the third largest French pharmaceutical company. Pierre Fabre has a long commitment to oncology and immunology with major R&D centers in France. The Pierre Fabre immunology Centre (CIPF) in Saint Julien en Genevois (CIPF) is developing research programs in the field of cancer immunotherapy, in particular the identification, development and production of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.

Under the agreement AbCheck will use its AbSieve discovery platform, which combines the Company’s proprietary phage and yeast display technologies, to deliver antibodies against an undisclosed number of targets provided by Pierre Fabre. The pharmaceutical company, which has full rights to any antibodies selected, will pay AbCheck discovery fees and milestone payments. Other financial and deal terms are not disclosed.

“AbCheck is continuing to broaden its partnership base with pharma and biotech companies,” said Dr. Volker Lang, Managing Director of AbCheck. “To be repeatedly selected as the antibody provider to companies like Pierre Fabre with their outstanding experience in antibody development is underlining the strength and applicability of our technology platform as well as our business model and overall our strategy to address the needs of our partners.”

“Pierre Fabre Immunology Center is working on new promising targets and this collaboration will accelerate our antibody discovery. We are always looking to reinforce our capabilities through collaborations with platforms of excellence.” said Dr. Nathalie Corvaïa, Managing Director of the Pierre Fabre Immunology Center.

“Along with the recent acquisition of a new cancer therapeutic in immuno-oncology – the immune checkpoint modulator AUNP12 targeting the PD-1 pathway – this additional partnership with AbCheck further illustrates Pierre Fabre strategy to reinforce its portfolio in oncology,” added Frédéric Duchesne, President, Pierre Fabre Pharmaceuticals.
 

About AbCheck:

AbChecks.r.o. focuses on the discovery and/or optimization of human antibodies for partner companies. AbSieve, the combined phage and yeast display platforms, is used to develop antibodies in all antibody formats including full length IgGs as well as customer specific and novel antibody formats. AbAccel, a proprietary algorithm for affinity maturation and optimization, is combined with Phage or Yeast Display and addresses affinity maturation, developability and stability optimization of antibodies in just one step. Antibodies generated by AbCheck’s AbSieve and AbAccel platforms have extremely high specificities and affinities, they are “GMP ready” and have improved drugability. Furthermore, the use of yeast display allows screening in the final antibody drug format. AbCheck has entered into several partnerships and is recognized for its expertise in antibody discovery throughout the US and Europe.
 

About Pierre Fabre:

Pierre Fabre is a privately-owned health care company created in 1961 by Mr Pierre Fabre. It is the second largest French independent pharmaceutical group with 2013 sales amounting to about EUR2 billion (yet to be audited) across 140 countries. The company is structured around two divisions: Pharmaceuticals (Prescription drugs, OTC, Oral care) and Dermo-cosmetics. Prescription drugs are organized around four main franchises: oncology, dermatology, women’s health and neuropsychiatry. Pierre Fabre employs some 10 000 people worldwide, including 1 300 in R&D. The company allocates about 20% of its pharmaceuticals sales to R&D and relies on more than 25 years of experience in the discovery, development and global commercialization of innovative drugs in oncology. Pierre Fabre has a long commitment to oncology and immunology with major R&D centers in France: the Pierre Fabre immunology Centre (CIPF) in Saint Julien en Genevois and the Pierre Fabre Research Institute (IRPF) located on the Toulouse-Oncopole campus which has been officially recognized as a National Center of Excellence for cancer research since 2012.

1989: Navelbine, the 1^st chemotherapy to provide significant improvement in Non small cell lung cancer treatment that led to its registration in US and Europe.

1991: Navelbine registered in Metastatic Breast cancer.

2001: Oral Navelbine, the 1^st oral chemotherapy approved in Europe in Non Small Cell Lung cancer, thereafter approved in Metastatic Breast cancer, subsequently allowing patients to be treated at home.

2003: Busilvex a bone marrow transplantation conditioning treatment, co-developed and commercialized in Europe, Turkey, Middle-East and Latin America (under Otsuka License).

2004: a partnership agreement was signed with Merck. It covered a 1^st monoclonal antibody for the treatment of cancers, including Colon, Pancreatic, and Non-small cell lung cancers.

2009: Javlor, the 1^st chemotherapy approved in Europe in advanced or metastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelial tract after failure of prior platinum-containing regimens.

2010: a licensing agreement was signed with Abbott to develop a 2^nd monoclonal antibody discovered by the Pierre Fabre researchers.

2013: a 3^rd monoclonal antibody CXCR4 has entered into phase 1 using pilot batches produced at the Pierre Fabre Immunology Centre.

2014: licensing agreement with Aurigene, a leading biotech company based in India, for a new cancer therapeutic in immuno-oncology : AUNP12, an immune checkpoint modulator targeting the PD-1 pathway.
 

For more information: www.pierre-fabre.com and www.cipf.com

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