Biowa and Takeda Announce Licensing of Biowa's Potelligent Technology for Use in Antibody Research and Development
PRINCETON, NJ and OSAKA, Japan, May 30, 2007 - BioWa, Inc. (BioWa) and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TSE4502, Takeda), announced today that the have entered into an agreement which provides Takeda with access to BioWa's patented POTELLIGENT®Technology platform for the development of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) enhanced antibodies.
The agreement grants Takeda non-exclusive rights to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize antibodies based on POTELLIGENT® Technology for an undisclosed number of targets. In return, BioWa will receive an upfront, license fees, development milestone payments and also royalties on products developed by Takedaonce they are successfully marketed. Other details of the agreement are not disclosed.
"We are delighted to be working with one of recognized industry leaders like Takeda," said Dr. Masamichi Koike, President and CEO of BioWa. "With Takeda's expertise in drug development and commercialisation, this collaboration reinforces BioWa's mission to bring the benefit of POTELLIGENT® Technology to patients as quickly as possible."
"We believe that the collaboration with BioWa, Inc will accelerate our drugdiscovery and development activities in therapeutic antibodies, a field that is expected to be potential as an important source of new medicines to satisfy unmetmedical needs," said Shigenori Ohkawa, PhD, General Manager of Pharmaceutical Research Division of Takeda.
About POTELLIGENT® Technology
POTELLIGENT® Technology improves potency and efficacy of
antibody therapeutics, by enhancing antibody-dependent cellular
cytotoxicity (ADCC), one of the major mechanism of antibody
therapeutics. POTELLIGENT® Technology involves the reductionof
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® 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® Technology,
which creates high ADCC monoclonal antibodies. Currently,BioWa is
developing ADCC enhanced monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics to
fightcancer and other life-threatening and debilitating diseases
and both BioWa and Kyowahave POTELLIGENT® 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.
POTELLIGENT® is the trademark of Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd.
All rights are
reserved.
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Posted: May 2007
