ProBioGen's GlymaxX® ADCC Enhancement Technology Used by Betta Pharmaceuticals

Berlin (ots/PRNewswire) -

Bispecific Antibody for Cancer Treatment Optimized by GlymaxX®
Technology

ProBioGen AG, a premier service & technology provider for complex
therapeutic antibodies and glycoproteins, announced today that the
company achieved an undisclosed milestone payment from Merus N.V.
(Nasdaq: MRUS) based on Merus' grant of an exclusive license to
Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province based Betta Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd to
develop and commercialize in China Merus' novel MCLA-129, Biclonics®
bispecific antibody for the potential treatment of cancer, which
utilizes ProBioGen's GlymaxX® antibody-dependent cell-mediated
cytotoxicity (ADCC)-enhancing technology for greater cell-killing
potential.

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Merus' use of the GlymaxX® ADCC enhancement technology in MCLA-129
is the result of an agreement executed between ProBioGen and Merus in
2016. Under the terms of that agreement, Merus obtained non-exclusive
rights to use the GlymaxX® technology for Merus' Bioclonics® pipeline
of bispecific antibodies designed to treat various forms of cancer to
enhance their ADCC activity. MCLA-129 is the third commercial
GlymaxX® license activated by Merus after MCLA128 anti-Her2/Her3 and
MCLA-158 anti-EGFRxLGR5 bispecific antibodies.

GlymaxX® is a stable modification, applicable to any producer
cell, leading it to produce antibodies without fucose in the sugar
chain. Such GlymaxX®-modified, afucosylated antibodies recruit and
activate immune effector cells much more effectively, possess a much
higher tumor cell killing activity and potentially require lower
doses.

ProBioGen offers access to GlymaxX® royalty-free as part of cell
line development service projects or as standalone technology
licenses.

About Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity (ADCC)

ADCC (Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity) activity is
an important antibody function, leading to the selectively killing of
target cells, i.e. cancerous cells or pathogen-infected cells.
Several therapeutic antibody drugs on the market rely on ADCC as
mechanism of action. ADCC enhancement has the potential to increase
the therapeutic effect and/or to greatly reduce antibody dosage
requirements, resulting in fewer side-effects and treatment costs.

About GlymaxX® - www.GlymaxX.de

The GlymaxX® technology, developed by ProBioGen, prevents the
synthesis of the sugar "fucose" and hence, in antibody-producing
cells, its addition to the N-linked antibody carbohydrate part. The
absence of fucose is known to greatly enhance ADCC. The GlymaxX®
technology is based on the stable introduction of a gene for an
enzyme which literally eliminates the producer cells' fucose
biosynthesis pathway. As a unique feature, differentiating it from
other approaches, GlymaxX® can be applied to both novel and already
existing antibody producer cell lines and entire antibody expression
and discovery platforms, without negatively affecting their
productivity or product characteristics. Moreover, it is simple,
rapid, potent, and universally applicable to different CHO hosts and
all other eukaryotic cell species. GlymaxX® can be rapidly applied in
a few weeks to any existing antibody producer cell line, can be used
in the context of ProBioGen's pre-engineered GlymaxX® host cells, or
can be introduced into entire animal cell expression platforms by
modifying the host cell line.

ProBioGen offers its GlymaxX® technology royalty-free as service
or as individual license.

About ProBioGen - www.probiogen.de

ProBioGen is a specialist for the development and manufacturing of
complex therapeutic glyco-proteins. Combining both state-of-the-art
development platforms together with intelligent product-specific
technologies yields biologics with optimized properties.

Rapid and integrated cell line and process development,
comprehensive analytical development and following reliable GMP
manufacturing is performed by a highly skilled and experienced team.
All services and technologies are embedded in a total quality
management system to assure compliance with international ISO and GMP
standards (EMA/FDA).

ProBioGen is operational since more than 20 years and is located
in Berlin, Germany.

Contact ProBioGen AG:

Dr Gabriele Schneider

Chief Business Officer

ProBioGen AG

Goethestr. 54

13086 Berlin, Germany

Phone: +49(0)30-924-006-0

Email: glymaxx@probiogen.de

Website: www.glymaxx.de

ots Originaltext: ProBioGen AG
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Original-Content von: ProBioGen AG, übermittelt durch news aktuell