PITTSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA, November 28, 2006 - Biolex Therapeutics today announced results published in Nature Biotechnology demonstrating the ability of its proprietary LEX SystemSM to produce monoclonal antibodies that have enhanced in vitro potency and efficacy. The research was conducted by scientists from Biolex and Medarex as part of an ongoing collaboration between the two companies. The publication also describes the LEX System's ability to produce antibodies with homogeneous glycosylation structures, an additional major advantage of the LEX System compared to expression systems commonly used today and key to reducing production risks, regulatory risks and costs.
"The rapid and successful evolution of our ability to optimize monoclonal antibodies greatly enhances the value of the LEX System and has expanded our commercialization opportunities," said Mr. Jan Turek, Biolex Chief Executive Officer. "Antibody glycosylation optimization is the focal point of a number of our current and future expected collaborations, and provides us with additional opportunities for expansion of Biolex's own proprietary pipeline."
Results Reported in Nature Biotechnology
Monoclonal antibodies comprise one of the fastest growing classes of protein therapeutics and are currently being used and developed primarily to treat cancers, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases and inflammatory diseases. The effectiveness of monoclonal antibodies, particularly those targeting oncology indications, are greatly impacted by the glycosylation, or sugar chain, structure of the antibody's Fc region. The majority of monoclonal antibodies are currently produced in a mammalian cell system, specifically systems utilizing cultured Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells.
Results were reported online on November 26 and in the December print issue of Nature Biotechnology, under the title "Glycan optimization of a human monoclonal antibody in the aquati
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Linnden Communications
28-Nov-2006