SHANGHAI and PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: WX), a leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device R&D outsourcing company with operations in China and the United States, and Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc. (OMT), an innovator in novel transgenic animals for development of human therapeutic antibodies, today announced that they have entered into an agreement to use OMT’s OmniRat to develop therapeutic antibody candidates for commercialization by WuXi’s global customers.
This transaction advances WuXi’s goal of working with skilled partners to enhance the company’s platform of technologies and capabilities to serve its customers better.
The OmniRat technology generates fully human antibodies with great specificity, affinity and manufacturability. It eliminates time-consuming humanization of traditional mouse-derived antibodies and the need for optimization of lead candidates using phage display technology.
“OMT’s OmniRat technology allows WuXi to expand its service offerings in discovery of fully human antibodies,” said Edward Hu, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of WuXi PharmaTech. “Providing discovery, development and manufacturing services for novel therapeutic antibodies represents an important new global business initiative for WuXi. We are investing heavily in building our capabilities and capacity in biologics services, which we expect to be a key driver of revenue growth for our company in the coming years.”
Dr. Roland Buelow, founder and CEO of OMT, continued, “The collaboration with WuXi further advances OMT’s efforts to deploy its human antibody platform globally. Under the collaboration, OMT can leverage WuXi’s expertise and capacity to create novel therapeutic candidates for its biopharmaceutical customers and apply OMT’s technology to an ever-broadening base of drug candidates.”
About WuXi PharmaTech
WuXi PharmaTech is a leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device R&D outsourcing company, with operations in China and the United States. As a research-driven and customer-focused company, WuXi PharmaTech provides pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies with a broad and integrated portfolio of laboratory and manufacturing services throughout the drug and medical device R&D process. WuXi PharmaTech’s services are designed to help its global partners shorten the cycle and lower the cost of drug and medical device R&D. The operating subsidiaries of WuXi PharmaTech are known as WuXi AppTec.
About Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc. - naturally optimized human antibodies
Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc. (OMT) is a leader in genetic engineering of animals for development of human therapeutic antibodies. OMT has developed OmniRat, the first fully human monoclonal antibody platform based on transgenic rats. OmniRat is based on an improved understanding of B cell development and a novel approach to inactivation of endogenous antibody expression. These transgenic animals make antibodies as efficiently as wild type animals. OmniRat is a new and proprietary technology with unrestricted development options for fully human monoclonal antibodies across all targets and indications worldwide.
For more information
Please visit www.wuxiapptec.com, www.omtinc.net or contact:
Ronald Aldridge
Director of Investor Relations
WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc.
Phone: +1-201-585-2048
E-mail: Ron_Aldridge@wuxiapptec.com
Brian Lundstrom
Chief Business Officer
Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc.
Phone: +1-510-220-5599
E-mail: bl@omtinc.net
SOURCE WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc.
