Viventia Biotech Inc. (Toronto, Canada) and Dowpharma(SM) contract manufacturing services, a business unit of
The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), today announced they have entered into a
commercial license agreement for Pfenex Expression Technology(TM), a
Pseudomonas-based technology from Dowpharma. Under the terms of the
agreement, Viventia will employ Pfenex Expression Technology for up to six
different therapeutic compounds, the first of which is an antibody-based
product candidate in preclinical development. Pfenex Expression Technology
accelerates speed to market for vaccines and biotherapeutics by improving
quality, boosting yields of difficult-to-express proteins and reducing the
cost of existing microbial systems. The agreement specifies milestone
payments and commercial royalties on product sales; additional financial
details were not disclosed.
"Our proprietary Armed Antibodies(TM) platform is a cutting edge approach
yielding powerful yet precise antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of
a variety of cancers," said Nick Glover, Ph.D, Chief Executive Officer of
Viventia Biotech. "To support the commercialization strategies for our drugs,
it is essential that we be able to produce our Armed Antibodies(TM)
efficiently and at commercially viable levels. Pfenex may enable us to
increase the expression of our Armed Antibodies(TM) beyond the levels of other
expression technologies and speed our process development."
"We look forward to expanding the technology applicability of Pfenex by
expressing antibody-based products, which are traditionally very difficult to
express," said Nick Hyde, global business director, Dowpharma. "This
agreement further validates the biopharmaceutical industry's need to more
quickly and efficiently produce biotherapeutics."
Dowpharma has an unmatched record in developing high-productivity strains
for the manufacture of numerous protein products for both clinical and
industrial applications. Pfenex Expression Technology is built around
specially modified strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria that increase
cellular expression of recombinant proteins and peptides while maintaining
critical solubility and activity characteristics. Pfenex Expression Technology
consistently outperforms other microbial systems, often with yields five to
ten times greater than the next best expression alternative.
About Dowpharma
Dowpharma(SM) serves the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries
with innovative technologies, products, and services in drug discovery,
development, delivery and manufacturing. Dowpharma has one of the broadest and
deepest capabilities in the global outsourcing industry with services that
include process development, route selection, methods development, custom
solubilization, chiral capabilities, and associated analytical services, as
well as manufacturing and scale-up from feasibility, through clinical trials,
to commercial manufacturing.
Dowpharma manufactures small molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients
(APIs) and intermediates, nucleic acid medicines, cGMP polymers, peptides and
therapeutic proteins from microbial fermentation and plant-based systems.
Dowpharma draws upon over 30 years of excellent cGMP regulatory compliance in
the organic synthesis of APIs and pharmaceutical intermediates with the
ability to provide client support in filing and validation strategies.
Dowpharma operates research, process development, and manufacturing facilities
in North America and Europe. More information is available at
www.dowpharma.com.
About Dow
Dow is a diversified chemical company that harnesses the power of science
and technology to improve living daily. The Company offers a broad range of
innovative products and services to customers in more than 175 countries,
helping them to provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals
to paints, packaging and personal care products. Built on a commitment to its
principles of sustainability, Dow has annual sales of $46 billion and employs
42,000 people worldwide. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow
Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly
noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.
About Viventia Biotech
Viventia Biotech Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company developing Armed
Antibodies(TM) powerful and precise anti-cancer drugs designed to overcome
various forms of cancer. Viventia's lead products, Proxinium(TM) and
Vicinium(TM), combine a cytotoxic protein payload significantly more powerful
than traditional chemotherapies with the highly precise tumour-targeting
characteristics of a monoclonal antibody. Proxinium(TM) and Vicinium(TM) are
in clinical development for the treatment of head and neck cancer and bladder
cancer, respectively.
Viventia, Proxinium(TM), Vicinium(TM) and Armed Antibodies(TM) are
trademarks of Viventia Biotech Inc.
For further information, please contact:
Dowpharma Contact:
Kathy W. Sweeney
Mentus
858-455-5500, x 230
kwitz@mentus.com
Viventia Contact:
James Smith
Tel. (416) 815-0700 x 229
Fax. (416) 815-0080
jsmith@viventia.com
SOURCE Dowpharma
-0- 02/14/2006 P
/PRNewswire -- Feb. 14/
/Web site: http://www.dowpharma.com /