Agreement Includes Manufacture of Antibodies and Antibody Drug Conjugates
PRINCETON, NJ, USA & BASEL, Switzerland | July 09, 2009 | Lonza and Medarex, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDX) today announced that they have signed an agreement giving Medarex the option to work with Lonza as a collaboration partner to provide manufacturing services in support of the development and commercialization of Medarex’s pipeline of therapeutic proteins and antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). As part of the agreement, Lonza may provide process development services for certain Medarex programs and may reserve manufacturing capacity for Medarex antibody and antibody drug conjugate programs at Lonza’s biopharmaceutical facilities around the world. Further details of the agreement were not disclosed.
"We are pleased to be working with such a successful mid-size biotech company to advance and strengthen their robust portfolio of innovative therapies," said Dr. Stephan Kutzer, Head of Lonza Biopharmaceuticals. "Supporting Medarex’s immediate and long-term needs with our expertise in mammalian cell culture and antibody drug conjugates is both exciting and rewarding."
This collaboration agreement represents the continued extension of Lonza’s contract manufacturing business model, evolving from a short-term product-by-product development and manufacturing arrangement toward more strategic long-term collaboration on a pipeline of products. The Medarex agreement leverages Lonza’s expertise and asset base in biologics manufacturing and its new state-of-the-art facilities to produce antibody drug conjugates in milligram to multiple kilogram quantities for both clinical and commercial supply.
Medarex’s biologics portfolio is focused on treating oncology and immunology therapeutic indications with ten antibody programs in Phase 3 to Phase 1 clinical development. Medarex is a leader in therapeutic antibody development, and there are over forty therapeutic product candidates derived from its UltiMAb(R) technology in development or at the IND submission stage for clinical trials, either through its internal efforts or through partnerships. Under the terms of the agreement, Lonza may be supporting a portion of the Medarex product pipeline.
About Lonza
Lonza is one of the world’s leading suppliers to the pharmaceutical, healthcare and life science industries. Its products and services span its customers’ needs from research to final product manufacture. Lonza is the global leader in the production and support of active pharmaceutical ingredients both chemically as well as biotechnologically. Biopharmaceuticals are one of the key growth drivers of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Lonza has strong capabilities in large and small molecules, peptides, amino acids and niche bioproducts which play an important role in the development of novel medicines and healthcare products. Lonza is a leader in cell-based research, endotoxin detection and cell therapy manufacturing. Lonza is also a leading provider of value chemical and biotech ingredients to the nutrition, hygiene, preservation, agro and personal care markets.
Lonza is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and is listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange. In 2008, Lonza had sales of CHF 2.937 billion. Further information can be found at www.lonza.com.
About Medarex
Medarex is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and potential commercialization of fully human antibody-based therapeutics to treat life-threatening and debilitating diseases, including cancer, inflammation, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases. Medarex applies its UltiMAb(R) technology and product development and clinical manufacturing experience to generate, support and potentially commercialize a broad range of fully human antibody product candidates for itself and its partners. Over forty of these therapeutic product candidates derived from Medarex technology are in human clinical testing or have had INDs submitted for such trials, with the most advanced product candidates currently approved for commercial sale, the subject of regulatory applications for marketing authorization or in Phase 3 clinical trials. Medarex is committed to building value by developing a diverse pipeline of antibody products to address the world’s unmet healthcare needs. For more information about Medarex, visit its website at www.medarex.com.
SOURCE: Medarex, Inc.
