Adimab adds Gilead pact to its growing roster of antibody deals

Fresh on the heels of a $14 million venture round, Adimab has stepped up with another big-name partnership deal to add to its roster of antibody pacts. Gilead Sciences--in the news today with some stellar hep C data--has turned to Adimab to work on antibodies for two undisclosed targets.

Gilead ($GILD) joins a client roster that includes many of the industry's top names, including: Biogen Idec ($BIIB), Eli Lilly ($LLY), Human Genome Sciences ($HGSI), Novo Nordisk ($NVO), Pfizer ($PFE), and Roche ($RHHBY). And Adimab today notes technical milestones achieved with Novartis ($NVS), Merck ($MRK), Merrimack ($MACK), and Genentech along with a separate pact to get to work on bi-specific antibodies.

As usual in these cases, Adimab didn't have any dollar terms to offer. The biotech is stingy with most of its financial details, often neglecting to disclose deals with partners that don't have a global rep. But it's not in the least bit shy about claiming a cutting-edge role in the world of antibody development.

"We are now expanding our platform into other aspects of antibody discovery, including bi-specific and multi-specific formats," says CEO Tillman Gerngross. "Further, Adimab's significant investment in cell-based selections is starting to pay off and we have begun deploying those capabilities in ongoing customer campaigns with considerable success."

Adimab--a 2010 Fierce 15 company--has been growing fast in the past three years. It's moving into a 21,500-square-foot lab in Lebanon, NH, with financial support from Google Ventures, Polaris and SV Life Sciences. And its workforce has grown to 67, heading to about 75 at the end of this year.

- here's the press release

Special Report: Adimab - 2010 Fierce 15

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