On October 13, 2020 IONTAS Limited (IONTAS), an innovative biotechnology company focused on antibody discovery and cutting-edge technology development, reported that it has entered into a licensing agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb Company regarding the Company’s proprietary mammalian display (Press release, Iontas, OCT 13, 2020, View Source [SID1234568378]).
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
Under the terms of this agreement, IONTAS will receive an upfront payment for accessing the technology platform and will work with Bristol Myers Squibb in establishing the platform within its facilities. Additional near-term payments include maintenance fees, the achievement of development milestones, and eventual royalty payments on all antibodies derived from the platform.
IONTAS’ proprietary mammalian display technology enables large libraries of full-length antibodies to be expressed on the surface of mammalian cells, in a way that allows selection for optimal binding properties and optimal biophysical properties. These benefits can significantly reduce the risk of antibodies failing during the expensive manufacturing stages. Effectively the platform allows the right lead antibodies to be selected early in the discovery process, reducing the requirement for any potential costly re-engineering to correct developability issues.
John McCafferty, Chief Scientific Officer of IONTAS and inventor of the platform, commented: "We are excited to have Bristol Myers Squibb, one of the global leading biopharmaceutical companies, as our licensing partner. Our mammalian display system not only allows the screening of tens of millions of clones directly for binding but also has a unique advantage to detect developability issues. This allows us to ’fix’ problematic antibodies and identify them during early drug discovery. This can save the industry significant time and money by generating developable products faster."