BERKELEY, Calif. and HEIDELBERG, Germany, Oct. 2, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- XOMA Ltd. (Nasdaq:XOMA) and Affimed Therapeutics AG announced today that they have signed a cross-license and collaboration agreement for antibody-related technologies. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The agreement provides XOMA with a license under Affimed's antibody library patents for antibody discovery purposes, as well as for the development and commercialization of antibodies. In addition, Affimed has agreed to build two customized patient-derived human antibody phage display libraries according to XOMA specifications.
The agreement provides Affimed with a license to use XOMA's Bacterial Cell Expression (BCE) technology for research purposes, with an option to acquire a BCE license for production and commercialization of antibodies, in particular for Affimed's proprietary TandAb and Flexibody technologies. XOMA also has agreed to provide Affimed with cell line development and process development services specific to a TandAb therapeutic product candidate that Affimed is currently developing.
"Affimed's custom libraries represent a powerful addition to XOMA's existing collection of the seven leading commercial human antibody phage display libraries. The advantage of patient-derived libraries is their potential to contain unique antibody candidates for the therapeutic area of interest," said Jack Castello, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of XOMA. "This collaboration extends XOMA's leadership in therapeutic antibodies, providing a single point of access to an even broader fully-integrated antibody discovery and development platform."
"We are delighted to enter into this broad cross-license and collaboration agreement with XOMA," said Rolf H. Gunther MD PhD, chief executive officer of Affimed. "The access to XOMA's state-of-the-art BCE technology represents another very important milestone for Affimed and provides new opportunities for the development of Affimed's promising recombinant antibody products. In addition to having the rights to use this technology in our development work, we are particularly pleased to have the benefit of XOMA's expertise in the development of cell lines and production systems for our TandAb therapeutic candidate."
About Affimed Therapeutics AG
Affimed is a private biopharmaceutical company based in Heidelberg, Germany and specializing in the development of recombinant antibodies -- the fastest growing segment of the pharmaceutical industry. Affimed was founded in May of 2000 by Professor Melvyn Little as a spin-off of his group "Recombinant Antibodies" at the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg.
The strength of Affimed's discovery platform lies in three large distinct antibody libraries that are the source of antibody leads which can be produced in a variety of formats from scFv, diabodies, full length antibodies to proprietary tetravalent formats such as Affimed's TandAb or Flexibody.
Affimed's existing pipeline comprises several very novel antibody formats targeting some potentially very high value cancer targets. Two cancer products are in advanced pre-clinical development. To learn more about Affimed, please visit www.affimed.com
About XOMA and its Bacterial Cell Expression Technology
XOMA is a leader in the discovery, development and manufacture of therapeutic antibodies, with a therapeutic focus that includes cancer and immune diseases. XOMA has royalty interests in RAPTIVA(r) (efalizumab), a monoclonal antibody product marketed worldwide (by Genentech, Inc. and Serono, SA) to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, and LUCENTIS(tm) (ranibizumab injection), a monoclonal antibody product marketed worldwide (by Genentech and Novartis AG) to treat neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration.
The company has built a premier antibody discovery and development platform that includes access to seven of the leading commercially available antibody phage display libraries and XOMA's proprietary Human Engineering(tm) and BCE technologies. BCE is an enabling technology used to discover and screen, as well as develop and manufacture, recombinant proteins and antibodies for commercial purposes. BCE is also a key technology used in multiple systems for high throughput screening of antibody domains. XOMA scientists were the first to demonstrate the secretion of antibody domains directly from the bacterial cells as fully functional, properly folded molecules. More than 45 companies have signed BCE licenses.
XOMA's development collaborators include Lexicon Genetics Inc., Novartis and Schering-Plough Corporation. With a fully integrated product development infrastructure, XOMA's product development capabilities extend from preclinical sciences to product launch. The company's pipeline also includes proprietary programs in preclinical and clinical development. In addition, XOMA leverages its recombinant protein and antibody production infrastructure through process development and manufacturing contracts with public and private sector organizations. For more information about XOMA's product pipeline and antibody product development capabilities and technologies, please visit XOMA's website at http://www.xoma.com/.
Certain statements contained herein concerning product development, customized patient-derived libraries, or that otherwise relate to future periods are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are based on assumptions that may not prove accurate. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to certain risks inherent in the biotechnology industry and for companies engaged in the development of new products in a regulated market. These risks, including those related to the results of discovery research and preclinical testing; the timing or results of pending and future clinical trials (including the design and progress of clinical trials; safety and efficacy of the products being tested; action, inaction or delay by the FDA, European or other regulators or their advisory bodies; and analysis or interpretation by, or submission to, these entities or others of scientific data); uncertainties regarding the status of biotechnology patents; uncertainties as to the cost of protecting intellectual property; changes in the status of the existing collaborative and licensing relationships; the ability of collaborators, licensees and other third parties to meet their obligations; market demand for products; scale up and marketing capabilities; competition; international operations; share price volatility; XOMA's financing needs and opportunities and risks associated with XOMA's status as a Bermuda company, are described in more detail in XOMA's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and in other SEC filings. Consider such risks carefully in considering XOMA's prospects.