Cambridge, UK, 4th -- February 2013: Kymab, a monoclonal antibody biopharmaceutical company,
announced today that it has launched Kymab Access, an academic collaboration programme for the
discovery and development of human monoclonal antibodies. Leading academic centres of
excellence in translational medicine across the world will have the opportunity to evaluate new
antibodies discovered on Kymab’s next generation antibody platform.
Through Kymab Access, academic groups can apply to collaborate with Kymab on the discovery and
development of human therapeutic antibodies. Based on the academic group’s understanding of
disease biology, Kymab will use its Kymouse™ technology to discover lead antibodies for evaluation
by academic partners. The Kymouse™ platform comprises a series of transgenic human antibody
mouse strains designed to generate high quality, fully human, therapeutic antibodies with minimal
requirement for subsequent antibody engineering.
Kymab Access will operate as an independent affiliate of Kymab to ensure confidentiality of
applications from academic groups. A committee of leading academic researchers has been
established to oversee the review of applications. Further information on the programme can be
found at www.kymabaccess.org.
Andrew Sandham, Chairman & CEO of Kymab, said: “Through Kymab Access we are looking forward
to collaborating with academic groups that are experts in the biology of human disease and
translational medicine. Kymab is able to provide next generation human monoclonal antibodies to
support these partnerships, in the quest to develop and commercialise innovative medicines.”
Sir Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust, said: “Our investment in Kymab has allowed
technology initiated at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute to deliver a world -leading human
antibody discovery platform. We are committed to realising broad application of this technology to
advance medical research and improve health, including tackling rare diseases and those affecting
people in low and middle-income countries, through academic collaboration and industrial
innovation.”
About Kymab
Kymab is a “platform to product” biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and
development of fully human monoclonal antibody drugs using its proprietary Kymouse™ transgenic
antibody platform.
Kymouse™ has been designed to maximise the diversity of human antibodies produced in response
to immunisation with antigens. Selecting from a broad diversity of fully human antibodies assures
the highest probability of finding that rare drug candidate with best-in-class characteristics.
Founded in 2009, Kymab raised £20m of equity financing in 2010 from the investment division of
the Wellcome Trust. It has an experienced management team with a successful track record in drug
discovery and development.
About Kymab Access
Kymab Access is the portal for academic organisations to pursue translational discovery and
development of novel therapeutic monoclonal antibodies using the Kymouse™ human antibody
discovery platform. Kymab Access Limited is an independent ly managed company established solely
for this purpose, with a confidentiality firewall between its operations and those of Kymab Limited,
the originator of the Kymouse™ technology.
For further information, please visit www.kymab.com and www.kymabaccess.org
Contact Kymab:
Andrew Sandham, Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +44 (0)1223 833301, Email: andrew.sandham@kymab.com
Contact Kymab Access:
Dr John Tite, Director, Kymab Access
Tel: +44 (0)1223 495459, Email: john.tite@kymabaccess.org
M: Communications
Mary Clark
Tel: +44 (0)20 7920 2361, Email: kymab@mcomgroup.com
Kymab, Kymouse, Kymouse Access are trademarks of Kymab Limited