Morphotek licenses anti-cancer antibody

Morphotek has inked a deal with Human Monoclonals International to get rights to a human monoclonal IgM antibody that is specific to a cancer cell surface antigen. The company hopes to develop a lead therapeutic MAb and high-titer cell lines suitable for scalable manufacturing. Morphotek, which was acquired by Eisai last year, has a pipeline of antibodies in development for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and infectious disease. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"This agreement provides yet another important addition to our therapeutic antibody portfolio," said Nicholas Nicolaides, Ph.D., Morphotek's president and CEO. "Safety data and positive clinical observations from an exploratory Phase I clinical trial in patients with metastatic melanoma have been reported. Our antibody optimization and development expertise will enable the further development of this promising antibody and clinical proof-of-concept studies in more types of cancer."

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