RESEARCH

AlivaMab Discovery Services is Expanding the Drug Discovery Platform with the Introduction of New Antibody Engineering Department

AlivaMab | May 13, 2021

AlivaMab Discovery Services, LLC ("ADS"), a pioneer in the discovery of superior antibody therapeutics, announced today the formation of its new Antibody Engineering Department, headed by Jonah Rainey, Ph.D. Jonah joins ADS as Vice President of Antibody Engineering, bringing 15 years of experience from Macrogenics Inc. in antibody engineering, discovery, and development, MedImmune, LLC/AstraZeneca PLC, Gritstone Bio, Inc., and, most recently, Immetas Therapeutics, Inc. Jonah's expertise in antibody engineering includes bispecific antibodies, some of which have reached clinical trials, antibody-drug conjugates, Fc modification, in vitro display for antibody discovery and optimization, and structural modeling.

“An increasing number of leading pharma and biotechs realize that ADS's pre-existing platform process adds exceptional value to their antibody drug discovery efforts. I am excited to be leading the initiative at ADS to develop new capabilities that will expand the scope and importance that we offer to our clients' drug discovery and development projects. The new Antibody Engineering Department's commitment will help to ensure that ADS delivers the best antibody drug candidates,” said Jonah Rainey, Vice President of Antibody Engineering at AlivaMab Discovery Services.

“Today, we significantly expand the ADS discovery platform by adding a new pillar of antibody engineering to our existing pillars of Ablexis' AlivaMab® Mouse, the leading transgenic animal technology for antibody drug discovery, a suite of AMMPD immunization technologies to address even the most challenging targets, a broad sampling of the immune repertoire through function-first high-throughput deep sequencing, and a broad sampling of the immune repertoire through function-first high-throughput sequence analysis. “Jonah's skills and abilities complement and reinforce the ADS team's accumulated decades of experience in discovery and development. We assist our clients in delivering quality medicines to patients quicker by combining team, technology, and partnership.”

About AlivaMab Discovery Services
AlivaMab Discovery Services is a privately-owned biotechnology company that develops an integrated antibody therapeutic discovery platform that combines innovative technologies and deep expertise to produce superior antibody therapeutics on time. Throughout their careers, the team has completed over 200 discovery projects, yielding several antibody drug candidates in clinical trials. ADS offers a wide range of antibody therapeutic candidates with complex molecular and epitope profiles, functional and kinetic characterization, and superior developability profiles.ADS is trusted by organizations ranging from global pharmaceutical firms to virtual biotechnology companies because of its business model that relies solely on partners instead of developing an internal product pipeline.

Spotlight

Meet the NeatCell C-Pro application. It automates the mononuclear cell fraction enrichment from diverse cellular products, and is designed for use with a density-gradient medium like Ficoll-Paque media with the Sepax C-Pro instrument and CT-90.1 single-use kit.

Spotlight

Meet the NeatCell C-Pro application. It automates the mononuclear cell fraction enrichment from diverse cellular products, and is designed for use with a density-gradient medium like Ficoll-Paque media with the Sepax C-Pro instrument and CT-90.1 single-use kit.

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Caris Life Sciences and Incyte Announce Strategic Research Partnership

Caris Life Sciences | March 09, 2023

Caris Life Sciences®, a leading molecular science and technology firm and Incyte Corporation have recently announced a strategic research partnership to advance precision medicine approaches for Incyte's oncology pipeline. Caris' innovative technology integrates data from whole exome sequencing, protein analysis, whole transcriptome sequencing and proprietary AI models and signatures to enhance patient outcomes through personalized medicine development. The partnership will initially apply Caris' data and analytics tools, comprehensive molecular liquid and tissue profiling services, and clinical trial enrollment program capabilities spans two therapeutic programs, with the option to expand to four total programs. Incyte will use Caris' data insights and analytics capabilities to uncover novel biomarkers and enhance clinical positioning strategies for its oncology initiatives. Patients enrolling in Incyte-led clinical trials will be subjected to longitudinal testing with Caris' comprehensive tissue and liquid molecular profiling tests for drug candidates developed as part of the agreement. Incyte will also use Caris' biomarker-driven patient selection for clinical trials, with the possibility of collaborating on creating companion diagnostics for the partnership's programs. Caris Life Sciences President and Chief Scientific Officer David Spetzler, MS, Ph.D., MBA, commented, "This partnership with Incyte will leverage Caris' leading molecular science and technology solutions to support Incyte's oncology research and development efforts." He further emphasized, "The aggregate strength of our platform, which provides patient level DNA and RNA data both in tissue and blood, may help to better identify and predict patient response to therapy, which in turn may accelerate clinical trial enrollment, optimize clinical positioning and potentially enhance technical and regulatory success." (Source – PR Newswire) About Caris Life Sciences Caris Life Sciences® is a leading molecular science firm that utilizes advanced technologies to revolutionize healthcare. Its suite of molecular profiling offerings, which assess RNA, DNA and proteins, enables patients, researchers and physicians to improve outcomes and save lives by revealing a molecular blueprint. Additionally, it is advancing precision medicine through the use of advanced AI and machine learning algorithms by utilizing its proprietary analytics engine, DEAN™, to develop a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of cancer. This information helps physicians to better identify and predict patient response to therapy and supports researchers and biopharmaceutical companies in research development, clinical trials, and target identification. With headquarters in Irving, Texas, the company has offices in several locations worldwide, providing services throughout the US, Europe, Asia, and other international markets.

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Bio-Techne Announces Completion of and Gene Therapy Catapult Analytical Technology (PAT) Consortium

Bio-Techne Corporation | March 20, 2023

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INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

Mustang Bio Announces Strategic Manufacturing Partnership and Portfolio Updates

Globenewswire | May 19, 2023

Mustang Bio, Inc. a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on translating today’s medical breakthroughs in cell and gene therapies into potential cures for difficult-to-treat cancers and rare genetic diseases, today announced a strategic update, including anticipated milestones for 2023. Mustang intends to optimize the allocation of its resources and focus on MB-106, MB-109, and in vivo CAR T platform technology. Additionally, Mustang announced a partnership with uBriGene (Boston) Biosciences Inc. (“uBriGene”), the U.S. subsidiary of uBriGene Group, a leading cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization (“CDMO”), which includes the sale of the Company’s development, manufacturing and analytical testing facility in Worcester, Massachusetts to uBriGene. Under the terms of an asset purchase agreement between Mustang and uBriGene, uBriGene will acquire Mustang’s state-of-the-art clinical- and commercial-scale cell and gene therapy manufacturing facility in Worcester, Massachusetts, for a total consideration of $11 million. This consideration includes $6 million payable upfront plus an additional $5 million payable upon Mustang raising $10 million in gross proceeds from equity raises following the closing of the transaction. The closing of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including approval of transfer of the Company’s lease to uBriGene by the owner of the building (an affiliate of the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School) and the acceptance of offers of employment with uBriGene or its affiliates by certain key current Mustang employees. Subject to satisfaction of conditions, the Company expects the transactions to close in June 2023. Subject to closing, the parties will enter into a manufacturing supply agreement, under which uBriGene will manufacture Mustang’s lead product candidates, including continuing to support MB-106 manufacturing for the ongoing multi-center Phase 1/2 trial. Mustang’s Worcester facility is a 27,000 square foot, cutting edge cGMP facility supporting process development, manufacturing and analytical testing, designed with the flexibility to expand and support various cell and gene therapy production requirements and capacities. uBriGene intends to expand the Worcester site’s capabilities while leveraging Mustang’s experienced staff and robust quality and operating systems to manufacture a broader portfolio of advanced modalities. uBriGene will also offer their expertise in preclinical research services and late-stage and commercial manufacturing of advanced therapy products with respect to product and process characterization, and regulatory inspections. Manuel Litchman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Mustang, commented, “We are very pleased to have found a great partner for the manufacturing of our CAR T cell and gene therapies, and we believe that this strategic partnership with uBriGene will meet our portfolio manufacturing needs to reach critical upcoming data inflection points, while extending our cash runway. I want to thank our manufacturing team for their dedication in building and growing our Worcester facility since it opened in 2018. While we are optimizing our resources at Mustang, we look forward to continuing to work with many of our colleagues in this new capacity, as our CDMO.” “This acquisition is important to uBriGene’s commitment to support the development, clinical, and commercial supply of cell and gene therapies to sustain industry demand and provide new CDMO options,” said Alex Chen, President of uBriGene. “We look forward to working together with the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School and local biotechnology companies to continue to advance the manufacturing ecosystem in the Greater Boston region. 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