Catalent has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Excelimmune, Inc. to access its antibody combination therapy (ACT) technology platform. The platform has the potential to enable a consistent and cost-effective method to manufacture multiple recombinant antibodies or other recombinant proteins in a single batch culture. Under the licensing agreement, Catalent will continue development work on the platform, both internally and in conjunction with partner-sponsored programs. Catalent will also be able to leverage its own proprietary GPEx® technology to help enable that development.
“Combination antibody therapies are becoming the treatment standard for many indications within oncology, immuno-oncology, and infectious diseases,” commented Mike Riley, Vice President/General Manager, Catalent Biologics. He added, “This technology platform has the potential to allow production of multiple antibodies in a significantly more cost-effective manner. This can allow innovators to look to combinations earlier in clinical development, and could be the difference in a new treatment getting to patients.”
Excelimmune's antibody combination expression system is based on a key innovation: the use of stable pools of cells generated by multiple directed gene insertions, instead of clonal cell lines. This attribute contributes to a quick, stable, and flexible culture system for mixtures of cells producing different antibodies. This technology has the potential to pave the way for more consistent, cost-effective production of antibody combinations, which will allow complex antibody therapeutics to gain greater accessibility to the clinic.