UCB licenses antibody research and development technology

UCB has announced that it has entered into an agreement with BioWa to gain access to the company’s patented Potelligent technology platform. UCB will use this platform in the development of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) enhanced antibodies.

According to the terms of the agreement, UCB will be granted non-exclusive rights for the research and development of antibodies on an undisclosed number of targets, while it will pay BioWa initial license fees, followed by milestone payments and royalties depending on the attainment of development and regulatory success and sales.

BioWa’s Potelligent technology uses a proprietary ducosyltransferase-knockout CHO cell line as a production cell to reduce the amount of fucose in the carbohydrate structure of an antibody.

Dr Nobuo Hanai, president and chief executive officer of BioWa, said: “The signing of this agreement is another example of the wide acceptance of the technology’s potential to develop better antibodies with enhanced therapeutic efficacy.”

He added that this partnership agreement would aid in the company’s goal of developing improved treatment for cancers and other serious diseases.

In May 2006, UCB announced that it had signed a collaboration and licence agreement with Immunomedics for its lead product, epratuzmab, a humanised monoclonal antibody.