PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- BioWa, Inc. (BioWa) announced today that it has entered into a second agreement with MedImmune to provide additional access to BioWa’s patented POTELLIGENT(R) Technology platform for the development of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) enhanced antibodies.
The agreement grants to MedImmune non-exclusive license rights to develop, manufacture and market antibodies based on POTELLIGENT(R) Technology for an undisclosed number of targets. In return, BioWa receives from MedImmune certain fees and milestone payments during product development, as well as royalties on marketed products using ADCC enhanced antibodies.
“We are pleased to extend our relationship with MedImmune, a world-leading biologics business and the cornerstone to AstraZeneca’s plans to establish a major international presence in the research and development of biological therapeutics,” said Dr. Masamichi Koike, President and CEO of BioWa. “With MedImmune’s superior expertise in antibody-based drug development, this collaboration complements BioWa’s mission to bring about the benefit of POTELLIGENT(R) Technology to patients as quickly as possible.”
About POTELLIGENT(R) Technology
POTELLIGENT(R) Technology improves potency and efficacy of antibody therapeutics, by enhancing antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), one of the major mechanism of antibody therapeutics. POTELLIGENT(R) Technology involves the reduction of the amount of fucose in the carbohydrate structure of an antibody using a proprietary fucosyltransferase-knockout CHO cell line as a production cell. Research shows that POTELLIGENT(R) Technology significantly enhances ADCC activity of an antibody in vitro, thereby increasing the potential for improved activity in vivo.
About BioWa, Inc.
BioWa is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd., Japan’s pharmaceutical and largest biotech company, and is the exclusive worldwide licensor of POTELLIGENT(R) Technology, which creates high ADCC monoclonal antibodies. Currently, BioWa is developing ADCC enhanced monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics to fight cancer and other life-threatening and debilitating diseases and both BioWa and Kyowa have POTELLIGENT(R) antibody products in various clinical stages. BioWa creates and develops enhanced ADCC antibodies for itself and others, offering a full range of antibody discovery and development capabilities. For more information about BioWa, visit its web site at www.biowa.com.
CONTACT: Masamichi Koike, Ph.D, President and CEO, +1-609-734-3420, or
Martina Molsbergen, Vice President, Business Management, +1-609-734-3430,
both of BioWa, Inc.
Web site: http://www.biowa.com/
