Tavotek Announces a Research Agreement with Genmab for the Development of Bispecific Antibodies
Tavotek Biotherapeutics, a biotech company which develops novel biologics for autoimmune diseases and oncology, announced that it has entered into a research agreement with Genmab A/S of Denmark to create and develop bispecific antibodies using Genmab's DuoBody® technology platform against disease relevant target antigens. Tavotek employs TavoSelect™, with proprietary VHO phage and Fab phage libraries, to efficiently identify lead molecules for generation of bispecific antibodies against validated target combinations. The objective of the agreement is to develop a novel first-in-class immune-modulator bispecific antibody for auto-immune and inflammatory-related conditions. "The research partnership with Genmab aligns with Tavotek's mission to develop life-changing therapies for patients with significant unmet medical needs, especially in the field of immunology," said Dr. Mann Fung, Chief Executive Officer of Tavotek Biotherapeutics. "Despite the availability of various biologics for many autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, there are patients who do not respond to existing therapies and have become intolerant due to adverse side effects from many of these treatments. We believe our novel bispecific antibody will help many patients and have a beneficial impact on patient care of autoimmune disorders. Our Fc engineering technology can further optimize pharmacokinetics and tissue specificity of the bispecific antibodies." The DuoBody® technology is a proprietary platform of Genmab A/S of Denmark. It is an innovative platform for the discovery and development of bispecific antibodies that may improve antibody therapy of cancer, autoimmune, infectious, and central nervous system disease. This platform has been successfully used in many Genmab internal or partnered investigational therapies.