Adimab Announces New Antibody Discovery Program with Gilead and Initiates First Bispecific Antibody Collaboration

Adimab Announces New Antibody Discovery Program with Gilead and Initiates First Bispecific Antibody Collaboration
-Company Announces Achievement of Milestones in Four Ongoing Partnerships-

LEBANON, N.H., Apr 19, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Adimab, LLC, a technology leader in the discovery of fully human therapeutic antibodies, today announced the initiation of two new independent research collaborations. Adimab and Gilead Sciences, Inc. GILD +12.23% of Foster City, CA, have initiated a research collaboration to identify therapeutic antibodies against two targets selected by Gilead. In addition, Adimab has expanded one of its current partnerships to initiate a new project in the area of bispecific antibodies. Adimab today announced the achievement of several technical milestones from its ongoing collaborations with Novartis, Merck, Merrimack, and Genentech.

With more than 28 antibody discovery projects in the last three years, Adimab has become the industry's most sought after partner for the development of therapeutic human antibodies. Adimab has enabled its partners, including Biogen Idec, Eli Lilly, Genentech, Gilead, Human Genome Sciences, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, and Roche to expand their biologics pipelines through a range of technology access arrangements. Less than three years after Adimab launched its platform several antibodies discovered by Adimab have entered human clinical trials providing further evidence for the quality and speed of the platform.

"Since inception, Adimab has focused on building the best-in-class antibody discovery technology. The ongoing demand from partners and development progress with our candidates clearly demonstrates the achievement of that goal," stated Tillman Gerngross, PhD, CEO of Adimab. "We are now expanding our platform into other aspects of antibody discovery, including bispecific and multi-specific formats. 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 seeks to be the partner of choice in antibody discovery by providing its collaborators with the highest quality development candidates and making its technology available through flexible technology access arrangements," explained Guy Van Meter, VP of Business Development. "With the first antibodies discovered by Adimab in the clinic, we are now applying our technology to bispecific partnerships with the ultimate goal of becoming a one-stop shop for all antibody-related discovery needs."

About the New Collaborations

Adimab and Gilead have initiated a research program whereby Adimab will use its proprietary discovery platform to identify fully human antibodies against up to two targets selected by Gilead. The agreement gives Gilead the option to commercialize antibodies generated from the collaboration. Adimab will receive upfront payments and preclinical milestones. In addition, Adimab is eligible to receive clinical development milestones and royalties on product sales.

Adimab and an undisclosed partner have initiated a joint research program whereby Adimab will use its proprietary discovery platform to identify bispecific antibodies that bind two distinct targets selected by the partner. The agreement gives the partner the option to commercialize one or more of the bispecific antibodies generated from the collaboration. Adimab is eligible to receive technical milestones, license fees, clinical development milestones and royalties on product sales.

About Adimab

Adimab's fully integrated antibody discovery and optimization platform provides partners with the unique opportunity to readily incorporate biological assessments during the selection process. The availability of purified, full-length human IgGs allows for rapid determination of biologic function and potential therapeutic efficacy. Adimab offers fundamental advantages by delivering and optimizing diverse panels of therapeutically relevant antibodies that meet the most aggressive standards for affinity, epitope coverage, species cross-reactivity and developability. For more information, visit www.adimab.com .

SOURCE: Adimab, LLC


       
        Adimab, LLC.
        Guy Van Meter, 603-643-7110 x175
        VP of Business Development
        or
        MacDougall Biomedical Communications
        Chris Erdman, 781-235-3060