ProBioGen AG, a service and technology provider for complex therapeutic glycoproteins, and Pionyr Immunotherapeutics, an immuno-oncology company which develops next generation antibody-based therapeutics that target the tumor microenvironment, have entered a second service and license agreement to develop novel antibody therapeutics. Under the terms of the agreement, ProBioGen will perform process development and GMP manufacturing on a second antibody from the Pionyr pipeline using their CHO.RiGHT expression platform. Parallel cell line development and analysis will allow for optimal cell line selection while compressing the development timeline, enabling a rapid advance to clinical trials.

“We developed a strong collaboration with Pionyr Immunotherapeutics on their initial antibody candidate, and we are enthusiastic about advancing a second antibody candidate into development,” said René Brecht, vice president process science and manufacturing, ProBioGen. “We consider Pionyr’s Myeloid Tuning approach to be ideally suited to target solid tumors and look forward to contributing to multiple programs with our CHO.RiGHT development and manufacturing platform. We have established a seamless team working across the two companies and are very pleased to expand our collaboration.”

Evan Greger, vice president of process development and CMC, Pionyr, said, “Pionyr is developing a novel class of antibody-based therapeutics that can alter the tumor microenvironment to favor immune-activating cells over immune-suppressing cells. After establishing a collaboration with ProBioGen in 2017 to advance our first Myeloid Tuning candidate into cell line development and clinical trials, we are enthusiastic to continue our partnership and advance a second antibody candidate. ProBioGen is an outstanding partner with well-respected development and manufacturing services. The CHO.RiGHT expression platform, combined with their experienced, committed team, is ideally suited for the rapid and successful advancement of our antibody programs into clinical trials.”