Expanded opportunities for the development of novel therapeutic products
CAMBRIDGE, England and ZURICH, Switzerland, July 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) and Molecular Partners today announce that they have signed a cross-licence agreement, under which both parties obtain substantial freedom to conduct research under certain of each others’ intellectual property, as well as the right to develop therapeutic, prophylactic and diagnostic products. CAT obtains access to Molecular Partners proprietary Designed Repeat Proteins (DRPs) technology and Molecular Partners gains rights to intellectual property in ribosome display, controlled by CAT, in the field of novel protein products.
Under the terms of the agreement, Molecular Partners obtains the right to use CAT’s intellectual property in Ribosome Display to develop an unlimited number of Designed Repeat Protein products for biotechnological tests and reagents, diagnostic tests and reagents, and therapeutics in all fields. In addition, Molecular Partners receives the right to sublicense the Ribosome Display with the DRP technology to third parties.
CAT obtains the right under the Molecular Partners’ patents to develop and commercialise products using Molecular Partners’ DRP technology, including the right to sublicense these products to collaboration partners.
Dr. Patrick Amstutz, Executive Director at Molecular Partners, commented, “We are very pleased to establish this cross-licence agreement with CAT, enabling Molecular Partners to select DARPins with Ribosome Display to any given target and for every possible application. This Freedom to Operate makes Molecular Partners a highly attractive partner for all companies interested in novel binding proteins for therapeutic or diagnostic applications.”
Alex Duncan, CAT’s Senior Vice President Discovery, commented, “We view this cross-licence agreement with Molecular Partners as an important addition to our continuing commitment to increasing the range of technologies that CAT can apply to the development and commercialisation of biologics. By working with companies like Molecular Partners we aim to strengthen our leadership position in this field. CAT not only obtains access to novel protein technologies, but also benefits from the exchange of intellectual property and the ability to work more closely with a new company in this exciting area.”
Notes to Editors: Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT): * Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) is a biopharmaceutical company using its capabilities and technologies in the discovery and development of new and innovative antibody medicines in selected therapeutic areas to bring improvements to seriously ill patients’ lives. Following the recent acquisition of CAT by AstraZeneca, CAT is a subsidiary of the AstraZeneca group of companies. CAT employs around 300 people and is based near Cambridge, UK and in Palo Alto, USA. * CAT is a leader in the discovery and development of human therapeutic antibodies and has an advanced proprietary platform technology for rapidly isolating human monoclonal antibodies using phage display and ribosome display systems. CAT has extensive phage antibody libraries, currently incorporating more than 100 billion distinct antibodies. These libraries form the basis for the Company’s strategy to develop a portfolio of antibody-based drugs. * More information: www.cambridgeantibody.com Molecular Partners AG: * Molecular Partners is a Swiss biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of DARPins, a novel class of binding proteins based on designed repeat proteins (DRPs). DARPins can be used for a range of different applications, including therapy and diagnostics. Molecular Partners has successfully generated DARPins against more than twenty different disease targets, including cell surface receptors, cytokines, proteases, kinases and viral coat proteins. * More information: www.molecularpartners.com
Cambridge Antibody Technology
CONTACT: Rowena Gardner, Director of Corporate Communications of CambridgeAntibody Technology, +44-0-1223-471-471; or Patrick Amstutz, ExecutiveDirector of Molecular Partners AG, patrick.amstutz@molecularpartners.com;or Chris Matthews, or Melanie Toyne-Sewell, or Andrew Jaques, all ofHogarth Partnership, Europe, +44-0-20-7357-9477, or Brad Miles of BMCCommunications, US, +1-212-477-9007 ext. 17, all for Cambridge AntibodyTechnology
