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