GHENT, Belgium, 10 December 2007 - Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX], a pioneer in the discovery and development of Nanobodies®, a novel class of antibody-derived therapeutic proteins, announced today that its drug discovery and development alliance with Novartis has been extended for another year.
Under the terms of the agreement, entered into in December 2005, the companies are collaborating to discover and develop novel Nanobody® based therapeutics against disease targets that are difficult to address with conventional antibodies or their fragments. Novartis has exclusive right to develop and commercialise the Nanobody® products resulting from the collaboration.
As part of the collaboration Ablynx receives license fees and funding for research and development: these are now extended for a further year. In addition, Ablynx is eligible for milestone payments and royalties upon commercialization.
Edwin Moses, CEO and Chairman of Ablynx, commented: “We are delighted our collaboration with Novartis, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies with a significant track record in innovative drug development, is extended for another year. This is an important partnership for Ablynx and we look forward to progressing our joint efforts to advance the Nanobody®-based programmes to the next stage.
- Ends -
About Ablynx – http://www.ablynx.com
Founded in 2001 in Ghent, Belgium, Ablynx is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of Nanobodies®, a novel class of therapeutic proteins based on single-domain antibody fragments, for a range of serious and life-threatening human diseases. The Company currently has over 130 employees. Ablynx completed a successful IPO on Euronext Brussels [ABLX] on 7 November 2007.
Ablynx is developing a portfolio of Nanobody®-based therapeutic programmes in a number of major disease areas, including inflammation, thrombosis, oncology and Alzheimer’s disease. Nanobodies® have been generated against more than 100 different disease targets. Efficacy data has been obtained in 16 in vivo models for Nanobodies® against a range of different targets.
Ablynx has an extensive patent position in the field of Nanobodies® for healthcare applications. It has exclusive and worldwide rights to more than fifty families of granted patents and pending patent applications, including the Hamers patents covering the basic structure, composition, preparation and uses of Nanobodies®.
Ablynx has ongoing research collaborations and significant partnerships with several major pharmaceutical companies, including Boehringer Ingelheim, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, and P&G Pharma. Ablynx is building a diverse and broad portfolio of therapeutic Nanobodies® through these collaborations as well as through its own internal discovery programmes. Ablynx announced interim Phase I data from its first programme, an anti-thrombotic (ALX-0081) in July 2007 and another programme, which is partnered, is in advanced preclinical development.
Nanobody® is a registered trademark of Ablynx NV.
For more information, please contact:
College Hill Life Sciences for UK/International media enquiries - Sue Charles, Justine Lamond, Holly Griffiths t: +44 (0)20 7457 2020 f: +44 (0)20 7866 7900 e: ablynx@collegehill.com
Ablynx: Dr. Edwin Moses Chairman and CEO t: +32 (0)9 262 00 07 m: +44 (0)7771 954 193 / +32 (0)473 39 50 68 e: edwin.moses@ablynx.com
Eva-Lotta Allan Chief Business Officer t: +32 (0)9 262 00 75 m: +32 (0)475 78 36 21 / +44 (0)7990 570 900 e: eva-lotta.allan@ablynx.com
