Almirall, S.A. (ALM) and WuXi Biologics have signed an agreement to develop innovative biologics for dermatology diseases including atopic dermatitis.

Under the agreement, Almirall has access to WuXi Biologics’ antibody platforms including WuXiBody to discover multiple novel bispecific antibodies. This strategic collaboration allows Almirall to develop the medication under license and maintain ownership of the resulting compounds.

Bhushan Hardas, MD, MBA, chief scientific officer of Almirall, said, “This agreement is a big step forward for us in our objective in becoming a leader in biologic medical dermatology treatments. With WuXi Biologics technology platform and our long experience and understanding in the area of dermatology, we will be able to identify new molecules with the potential to become optimal alternative therapies for patients with atopic dermatology.”

Dr. Chris Chen, chief executive officer of WuXi Biologics, said, “We are delighted to establish this collaboration with Almirall, the 12th global partnership since we launched this exciting platform in August 2018. This represents one further step in validating the power and versatile applications of WuXiBody™ in multiple therapeutic areas, underlining our leadership in next-generation biologic technologies and demonstrating our contributions to enable global partners to develop more new treatments for patients worldwide. WuXi Biologics is committed to developing globally leading technologies to accelerate and transform biologics discovery, development and manufacturing.”