Novimmune, Baxalta Ink Bispecific Antibody Pact

Novimmune SA has signed an international research collaboration with Baxalta to develop novel bispecific antibodies for an undisclosed indication. Financial terms were not disclosed.
 
The collaboration will use Novimmune’s new kappa-lambda bispecific antibody technology, a platform that generates fully human antibodies that target two specific binding sites with one antibody.
 
“The kappa-lambda platform is exactly the right technology for therapy areas which need a bispecific antibody that is as close to a natural human antibody as you can get,” said Novimmune chief executive officer Jack Barbut. Bispecific antibodies currently used in biopharmaceutical applications have been constructed using chemical linkers, non-human material, antibody fragments or forced engineering, he said.
 
“Our kappa-lambda antibodies are allowed to assemble naturally,” said head of Research Nicolas Fischer. “So, they have promising development and safety characteristics such as a longer half-life, increased stability and a lower risk of provoking an unwanted reaction in patients.”