Mab-Venture Biopharm CO. & Thermo Fisher Scientific Establish Asia Pacific's First "SmartFactory" For Antibody Drugs
20th Apr 2017, (Translated from Chinese) Mab-Venture and Thermo Fisher have formed a strategic cooperation agreement, under which they will jointly establish an antibody drug "SmartFactory" to promote the development of biopharmaceuticals in Asia.
At the 2017 China (Guangdong) & U.S. Investment Cooperation and Communication Meeting held in Guangzhou, Thermo Fisher: the world leader in scientific services and Mab-Venture Biopharm Co., Ltd. (Mab-Venture), signed a strategic cooperation agreement in the witness of Chunhua Hu: The Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee.
The two companies will establish ‘Mab-Venture & Thermo Fisher Scientific Antibody Engineering Technology Showcase and Service Center’ at Guangzhou International Bio Island ("Bio Island"). The center will be the first in Asia Pacific and a world leading intelligent antibody plant utilizing SmartFactory. SmartFactory is an automated control solution developed by Thermo, which optimizes plant-wide resource utilization, integrates manufacturing (batch) information, and facilitates training and validation record management for single-use system facilities. Once established, the Center will provide a variety of antibody drug services including Contract Research Organization (CRO) and Contract Manufacturing Organization (CMO) services.
Mab-Venture and Thermo will collaborate to bring the world's leading solution to China to achieve the goal of "one place", "one bottle of medicine". The agreement will promote local biopharmaceutical companies (especially CROs & CMOs) to maintain product quality and compliance, while greatly enhancing the speed of R&D and reducing costs, so as to facilitate the rapid development of the whole industry, and ultimately benefit the majority of patients. The collaboration of Thermo Fisher and Mab-Venture on Guangzhou’s Bio Island will also help further fuel the eco-system and promote Guangdong and China’s biotechnology capabilities. It is also an important milestone in the process of the Guangzhou government strengthening Sino-US ties in science and technology after the signing of a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with Thermo in 2016.
"The company is located in various cities in Guangdong and has a solid foundation of cooperation with Guangzhou," said Gianluca Pettiti, president of Thermo Fisher China. "In the 'Bio Island' which also is the 'Accelerated Land' of Innovation, we hope to strengthen ties with local partners in the field of biopharmaceuticals, precision medicine and other areas to bring success and practice the long - term commitment 'rooted in China, serve for China '. Dr. George Wang, the founder and CEO of Mab-Venture said, “We will further deepen the strength and competitiveness of a variety of antibody contract development (CRO) and contract manufacturing (CMO) services, which is in line with the vision of the Chinese government to enhance the country’s innovative biologics capabilities. We are delighted to have in-depth cooperation with Thermo, especially by introducing SmartFactory, a new intelligent force to strengthen our industry's leading position. The application of this platform can not only shorten facility construction time, but also reduce production costs, improve overall R&D and manufacturing capabilities, in order to create a biotechnology company committed to the whole industry chain.
INTRODUCTION of MAB-VENTURE
Mab-Venture Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. was founded in Shanghai’s Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in 2014, and is focused on biologics R&D, contract manufacturing and testing.
The management team of Mab-Venture has vast experience working for multinational biopharmaceutical companies and has led biologic development, bioanalysis, quality control testing, and research for more than 15 years within these organizations.
The R & D and pilot production bases (5100m2) were built in The Shanghai International Medical Zone. These facilities include an R&D center and four pilot scale production lines of up to 500L single-use bioreactors, which provide overall technical services for various stages of biologics development and also end to end support for biologics R&D from discovery to clinical studies. On August 25th, 2016,Mab-Venture received its Series A financing of 226 million yuan (~$36 Mln), led by Prosperico-Venture. The funding will be used to build a leading antibody platform to support end to end research and development from discovery to large scale GMP manufacture. Mab-Venture will focus on the establishment of an integrated service platform, which covers R&D of antibody therapeutics, development and validation of analytical/bioanalytical methods, immunogenicity program design and study execution, PD/PK study design and execution, and IND filing support and consultation services. Simultaneously, Mab-Venture will increase antibody R&D investment and increase its investment in personnel. During the next year, the company will expand to 150 people from its current headcount of 100, and in the next 2-3 years, the company will have several products that are anticipated to complete global IND filings. The production base, on which Mab-Venture is partnered with Thermo Fisher on Guangzhou’s International Biotech Island, is expected to open in early 2019.
At the 2017 China (Guangdong) & U.S. Investment Cooperation and Communication Meeting held in Guangzhou, Thermo Fisher: the world leader in scientific services and Mab-Venture Biopharm Co., Ltd. (Mab-Venture), signed a strategic cooperation agreement in the witness of Chunhua Hu: The Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee.
The two companies will establish ‘Mab-Venture & Thermo Fisher Scientific Antibody Engineering Technology Showcase and Service Center’ at Guangzhou International Bio Island ("Bio Island"). The center will be the first in Asia Pacific and a world leading intelligent antibody plant utilizing SmartFactory. SmartFactory is an automated control solution developed by Thermo, which optimizes plant-wide resource utilization, integrates manufacturing (batch) information, and facilitates training and validation record management for single-use system facilities. Once established, the Center will provide a variety of antibody drug services including Contract Research Organization (CRO) and Contract Manufacturing Organization (CMO) services.
Mab-Venture and Thermo will collaborate to bring the world's leading solution to China to achieve the goal of "one place", "one bottle of medicine". The agreement will promote local biopharmaceutical companies (especially CROs & CMOs) to maintain product quality and compliance, while greatly enhancing the speed of R&D and reducing costs, so as to facilitate the rapid development of the whole industry, and ultimately benefit the majority of patients. The collaboration of Thermo Fisher and Mab-Venture on Guangzhou’s Bio Island will also help further fuel the eco-system and promote Guangdong and China’s biotechnology capabilities. It is also an important milestone in the process of the Guangzhou government strengthening Sino-US ties in science and technology after the signing of a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with Thermo in 2016.
"The company is located in various cities in Guangdong and has a solid foundation of cooperation with Guangzhou," said Gianluca Pettiti, president of Thermo Fisher China. "In the 'Bio Island' which also is the 'Accelerated Land' of Innovation, we hope to strengthen ties with local partners in the field of biopharmaceuticals, precision medicine and other areas to bring success and practice the long - term commitment 'rooted in China, serve for China '. Dr. George Wang, the founder and CEO of Mab-Venture said, “We will further deepen the strength and competitiveness of a variety of antibody contract development (CRO) and contract manufacturing (CMO) services, which is in line with the vision of the Chinese government to enhance the country’s innovative biologics capabilities. We are delighted to have in-depth cooperation with Thermo, especially by introducing SmartFactory, a new intelligent force to strengthen our industry's leading position. The application of this platform can not only shorten facility construction time, but also reduce production costs, improve overall R&D and manufacturing capabilities, in order to create a biotechnology company committed to the whole industry chain.
INTRODUCTION of MAB-VENTURE
Mab-Venture Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. was founded in Shanghai’s Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in 2014, and is focused on biologics R&D, contract manufacturing and testing.
The management team of Mab-Venture has vast experience working for multinational biopharmaceutical companies and has led biologic development, bioanalysis, quality control testing, and research for more than 15 years within these organizations.
The R & D and pilot production bases (5100m2) were built in The Shanghai International Medical Zone. These facilities include an R&D center and four pilot scale production lines of up to 500L single-use bioreactors, which provide overall technical services for various stages of biologics development and also end to end support for biologics R&D from discovery to clinical studies. On August 25th, 2016,Mab-Venture received its Series A financing of 226 million yuan (~$36 Mln), led by Prosperico-Venture. The funding will be used to build a leading antibody platform to support end to end research and development from discovery to large scale GMP manufacture. Mab-Venture will focus on the establishment of an integrated service platform, which covers R&D of antibody therapeutics, development and validation of analytical/bioanalytical methods, immunogenicity program design and study execution, PD/PK study design and execution, and IND filing support and consultation services. Simultaneously, Mab-Venture will increase antibody R&D investment and increase its investment in personnel. During the next year, the company will expand to 150 people from its current headcount of 100, and in the next 2-3 years, the company will have several products that are anticipated to complete global IND filings. The production base, on which Mab-Venture is partnered with Thermo Fisher on Guangzhou’s International Biotech Island, is expected to open in early 2019.