Cambridge, UK and Moscow, Russia, 09 December 2019: IONTAS Limited (IONTAS), a leader in the discovery and optimisation of fully human antibodies, has been informed that International Biotechnology Center (IBC) Generium, a leading Russian biopharmaceutical company, focused on developing and commercialising pharmaceutical products for the treatment of orphan diseases and cancer, has received approval from the Russian Health Authorities to initiate clinical trials with its CD3/CD19 bispecific antibody for the treatment of B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). This is the first IBC Generium drug candidate developed using IONTAS technology, which was approved for clinical trials. IBC Generium and IONTAS worked together to generate the anti-CD3 component of the bispecific molecule. This approval reflects the quality of antibodies generated and expertise within IBC Generium to reach this important clinical milestone. Following on from this trial it is anticipated that further clinical trials incorporating IONTAS antibodies will be driven forward by clients of IONTAS in the coming few years.
Dr John McCafferty, CEO and Founder of IONTAS, said: “We are very proud of our involvement in this project and delighted that IBC Generium has achieved this important landmark. We are hopeful for success in this initial trial and are excited by the prospect of our anti-CD3 antibody contributing more broadly to the armoury of new and innovative cancer treatments.”
Dr Ravil Khamitov, CEO of IBC Generium, said: “IONTAS was selected because of its robust track record and technical know-how. We were confident IONTAS would deliver antibodies suitable for use in our bispecific programs and were not disappointed. This trial is vindication of that confidence. We look forward to a successful clinical trial and further success with other antibodies developed with IONTAS.”
Dr Neil Butt, CBO and Dr John McCafferty, CEO and Founder of IONTAS, will attend 38th Annual J.P.Morgan Healthcare Conference (San Francisco, CA) from January 13 – 16 2020. Dr Neil Butt will be at Antibody Engineering and Therapeutics (San Diego, CA) from 9 – 13 December 2019.
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