Antitope Ltd., an Abzena company, announced that it will develop a manufacturing cell line for the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research (BIIR), one of the world’s leading centers for translational immunology research, using its Composite CHO technology. BIIR is developing a range of therapeutic vaccines for the treatment of cancer and other diseases, and Antitope will develop a cell line for the production of BIIR’s novel dendritic-cell-targeting vaccine for the treatment of head and neck and cervical cancer.

 

Antitope has developed the Composite CHO technology for the generation of stable cell lines producing high yields of proteins and antibodies ready for cGMP manufacture. The current project represents another milestone in the relationship between Antitope and BIIR, initiated several years ago when Antitope applied its Composite Human Antibody technology to humanize several novel BIIR antibodies. The humanized antibodies have been an important tool for BIIR in the development of its therapeutic vaccines. 

 

Matthew Baker, CSO of the Abzena group and co-founder of Antitope, commented: “We are delighted to be working with BIIR again and to have the opportunity to help advance one of its novel therapeutic dendritic-cell-targeting vaccines towards the clinic.”

 

Gerard Zurawski, co-director of BIIR and Director of the Center for Biotechnology at BIIR, said: “We are thrilled to be continuing our working relationship with Matthew Baker and his team at Antitope on this program and we anticipate that the vaccine can now be rapidly advanced to clinical studies.”

 

Dr. Michael Ramsay, president of Baylor Research Institute, added: “As part of the Baylor Scott & White Health system, BIIR can leverage the GMP manufacturing capability of facilities in Temple, Texas– established with funding from Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT)– and our system-wide clinical trials infrastructure, to develop products for cancer patients across the globe.”

 

Date: June 6, 2014

Source: Antitope Ltd.