Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and AbCellera on February 2, 2016 entered into a collaborative research agreement whereby AbCellera will apply its high-throughput single cell antibody platform for the discovery of rare monoclonal antibodies. AbCellera is a Canada-based privately held company that has developed a high-throughput platform for the rapid discovery of therapeutic antibodies directly from natural immune cells.
“We are pleased to work with AbCellera utilising this company’s novel biologics technology. This agreement will be complementary to our existing antibody discovery process with the potential to strengthen Teva’s capabilities in novel biologics discovery,” commented Michael Hayden, president of global R&D and chief scientific officer at Teva.
Under the terms of the agreement, AbCellera will receive an upfront payment, research payments, and is eligible to receive undisclosed downstream milestones associated with the development and approval of therapeutic antibodies.
“These are tough problems that need new technologies to move them forward. Our platform brings important advantages to enable the discovery of rare antibodies with defined specificity and functional activity against difficult membrane protein targets. We look forward to a close collaboration with the team of scientists at Teva, and are excited at the chance to help advance this important program,” said Dr Carl Hansen, president and CEO of AbCellera.
