Takeda enters new antibody development agreement

Japanese pharmaceutical manufacturer Takeda has signed a new research and development agreement with Xoma to research monoclonal antibodies for therapeutic uses.

Xoma, an American company, has discovered and developed monoclonal antibodies that have lead to products such as Raptiva, the Serono psoriasis drug, and Lucentis, the Novartis drug used to treat “wet” age-related macular degeneration.

John L Castello, Xoma’s chairman of the board, as well as president and chief executive, said that his company’s expertise and technological capabilities would fit well with Takeda’s ambitions to strengthen its therapeutic antibody-based product pipeline.

Shigenori Ohkawa, general manager of pharmaceutical research at Takeda, remarked: “We believe that the collaboration with Xoma will accelerate our drug discovery and development activities in therapeutic antibodies, a field that continues to grow as an important source of new medicines.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Takeda will pay both upfront and milestone payments that could total up to $100 million (52 million pounds). In addition, Xoma will receive royalty payments on any product successfully commercialised.

Last month, Takeda received a positive opinion from the EU’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use for Tandemact, a combination therapy for type-two diabetes. A positive opinion from the committee often precedes regulatory approval from the European Commission.