NovImmune enters exclusive antibody licensing agreement with Genentech
Plan-Les-Ouates/Switzerland– 26th July 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 NovImmuneon 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.
For further information
please contact: Luca Bolliger
Director, Business
Development and Communication
NovImmune SA=14 ch. des Aulx=1228
Plan-Les-Ouates, Geneva=Switzerland
T +41 22 593 51 15=F +41 22 839 71 42
Jack
Barbut
CEO
NovImmune SA=14 ch. des Aulx=1228
Plan-Les-Ouates, Geneva=Switzerland
T +41 22 839 71 41=F +41 22 839 71 42
7_2010 DNA_NI deal Press Release_E_FIN