- Laureate to Manufacture ARIUS' Product Candidate Trop-2 Signal
Transduction Antibody -
PRINCETON, N.J., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Laureate Pharma, Inc., a full-
service biopharmaceutical development and protein production company, today
announced that it has entered into a cGMP contract manufacturing agreement
with ARIUS Research, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on discovering
and developing the next wave of antibody therapeutics to treat cancer and
other diseases, for its Trop-2 Signal Transduction Antibody Program.
Laureate will produce ARIUS' IgG1 humanized antibody under the agreement.
ARIUS' Trop-2 antibody program targets a novel marker that has been linked
in the scientific literature to aggressive cancers including pancreatic,
colon, breast and prostate cancer.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080131/NETH020LOGO )
"Our specialized experience in the manufacture of monoclonal antibodies
makes us an ideal partner to support ARIUS and the manufacturing of their
Trop-2 Signal Transduction Antibody," said Robert J. Broeze, Ph.D.,
President & CEO of Laureate. "As with all of our Life Science client
companies, we will work closely with the ARIUS team to help them achieve
their manufacturing objectives."
"The initiation of manufacturing for our second drug candidate
demonstrates our ability to execute on our milestones and move multiple
candidates from the ARIUS pipeline of drug candidates forward," said Dr.
David S. Young, President and Chief Executive Officer of ARIUS. "Laureate
Pharma has a track record of expertise in biopharmaceutical manufacturing,
including capabilities in both clinical and commercial-grade materials and
will provide us with a supply of our Trop-2 targeting drug necessary to
begin our preclinical studies in the first quarter of 2008 in preparation
for human clinical trials."
ARIUS' Trop-2 Signal Transduction Antibody Program has produced the
only unconjugated antibody currently in development targeting this novel
marker. Trop-2 is a protein expressed on the cell-surface and found in many
cancer indications including pancreatic, colon, breast and prostate cancer.
The target is thought to be a key part of the expansive MAPK pathway. Of
more than 900 abstracts considered for oral presentation at the October
2007 AACR- NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and
Cancer Therapeutics, the abstract on Trop-2 was one of 12 selected. The
Trop-2 Signal Transduction Program was generated using ARIUS' proprietary
FunctionFIRST(TM) technology, which selects antibodies based on their
ability to kill cancer cells.
About Laureate Pharma, Inc.
Laureate Pharma is a full-service biopharmaceutical development and
protein production company located in Princeton, New Jersey. Laureate
Pharma offers superior bioprocessing services that accelerate new products
from development through production. Laureate provides a wide range of
specialized services from process design and development to full-scale cGMP
production, purification, aseptic filling, testing, validation, analytical
services, and regulatory support. Laureate is focused on two active
segments of the biopharmaceutical industry: monoclonal antibodies and
recombinant protein products. Laureate Pharma, Inc. is a partner company of
Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE), which provides growth capital for
entrepreneurial and innovative technology and life sciences companies
through expansion financings, corporate spin-outs, management buyouts,
recapitalizations, industry consolidations and early-stage financings.
(http://www.safeguard.com) For more information, contact Michael Cavanaugh, Vice
President Sales, Marketing, and Business Development at (609) 919-3400, or
info@laureatepharma.com or visit http://www.laureatepharma.com.
About ARIUS
ARIUS is a biotechnology company discovering and developing the next
wave of antibody therapeutics. Established in 1999, ARIUS has built a
proprietary technology platform, FunctionFIRST(TM) that rapidly identifies
and selects antibodies based on their functional ability to affect disease.
This antibody generation engine has enabled ARIUS to assemble a portfolio
of more than 500 antibody candidates. In addition to the antibodies it is
developing in-house, ARIUS has ongoing partnerships with key biotechnology
and drug development companies. ARIUS is listed on the TSX under the symbol
"ARI". For further information, visit http://www.ariusmabs.com
SOURCE Laureate Pharma, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.laureatepharma.com
http://www.safeguard.com http://www.ariusmabs.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080131/NETH020LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Michael Cavanaugh, Vice President Sales,
Marketing, and Business Development of Laureate Pharma, Inc.,
+1-609-919-3400, info@laureatepharma.com
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