CRO

Sanofi taps Catalent for antibody R&D

Catalent ($CTLT) has signed a collaboration deal with pharma giant Sanofi ($SNY), lending out its proprietary approach to crafting antibody-guided treatments.

Under the agreement, Catalent will use its antibody-drug conjugate platform to boost the effectiveness of Sanofi's in-house candidates. The deal centers on Catalent's SMARTag technology for developing ADCs, which are treatments that fuse an antibody to a cell-killing payload to create a targeted therapy, most commonly used in fighting cancer.

Catalent took full control of SMARTag last year when it bought out longtime partner Redwood Bioscience, acquiring a platform the company stands out from the many other offerings in the field.

Barry Littlejohns

"Through in vivo toxicology studies, we have demonstrated that ADCs generated using Catalent's SMARTag platform have a better toxicity profile than a conventional ADC, while efficacy studies also point to an improved therapeutic index," Barry Littlejohns, Catalent's President of Advanced Delivery Technologies, said in a statement. "We look forward to partnering with Sanofi to support the development of their next-generation of ADC products."

Catalent has been busy on the dealmaking front since going public in July, also snapping up R&D tech firm Micron Technologies in the fall. And, in the fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30, the Somerset, NJ, company pulled in $418.3 million, a 1% over the same period last year, thanks to 1% growth in its banner oral technologies segment, a 2% increase for development and clinical services, and a 1% boost for its medication delivery business.

For the full fiscal year, Catalent expects revenue to come in around $1.9 billion, good for nearly 5% growth, and adjusted net income of up to $225 million, which would be a 58% leap over 2014.

- read the statement