AnaptysBio, Inc. Expands Patent Portfolio with Issuance of U.S. Patent to in Vitro Somatic Hypermutation

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- AnaptysBio, Inc., a privately held therapeutic antibody company, today announced the issuance of Patent # 8,288,160 entitled “Activation Induced Deaminase (AID)” by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This patent, the 16th issuance in AnaptysBio’s intellectual property portfolio, broadly covers the use of in vitro somatic hypermutation (SHM) in eukaryotic cells for the discovery and optimization of antibodies. Previously issued patents within AnaptysBio’s intellectual property portfolio are directed to the use of somatic hypermutation in prokaryotic cells and various lymphoid cell lines.

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AnaptysBio has exclusive rights to the aforementioned patent, which is based upon the seminal work by Dr. Michael Neuberger in the field of somatic hypermutation and is owned by the Medical Research Council. Dr. Neuberger has been a key member of AnaptysBio’s scientific advisory board since the Company’s inception.

AnaptysBio’s intellectual property portfolio protects the Company’s proprietary antibody discovery and optimization platform technology, known as SHM-XEL. As the first antibody platform to replicate SHM in vitro, SHM-XEL overcomes limitations of prior technologies by coupling mammalian cell-based fully human antibody libraries with in vitro SHM to rapidly generate therapeutic lead candidates selected for affinity, function, cross-reactivity, epitope diversity and expression.

“SHM-XEL is a powerful methodology that surpasses prior techniques for therapeutic antibody discovery and maturation,” said Hamza Suria, AnaptysBio’s president and chief executive officer. “The speed and versatility of SHM-XEL has enabled AnaptysBio to rapidly develop therapeutic antibodies with unique functionality and robust biophysical properties.”

About AnaptysBio

Founded in 2005, AnaptysBio, Inc. is a privately-held company focused on the generation of antibody therapeutics, and the leader in the use of somatic hypermutation (SHM) for antibody discovery and optimization. AnaptysBio’s proprietary SHM-XEL platform, which couples fully human antibody libraries with in vitro somatic hypermutation (SHM) in mammalian cells to generate high affinity lead candidates, replicates key features of the human immune system and overcomes limitations of prior antibody technologies. By harnessing the natural mechanism of antibody maturation under controlled conditions, SHM-XEL allows for the selection of optimal antibody properties such as high affinity, function, cross-reactivity, epitope diversity and manufacturability. AnaptysBio has established broad intellectual property around the use of SHM and is currently building a pipeline of novel therapeutic antibody product candidates, including differentiated programs in cancer immunotherapy, inflammation, muscle wasting disorders and antibody-drug conjugate applications. The Company has previously announced pharma partnerships with Merck, Roche, Novartis, Celgene and Gilead. Major investors in AnaptysBio include founding investor Avalon Ventures, as well as Alloy Ventures, Frazier Healthcare Ventures and Novo A/S. For more information, visit www.anaptysbio.com.

SOURCE AnaptysBio, Inc.

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