Biocon Ltd and IATRICa, Inc have announced a strategic partnership to co-develop an exclusive new class of immunoconjugates for targeted immunotherapy of cancers and infectious diseases.
The companies will co-develop candidate products based upon IATRICa's technology platform and Biocon's proven expertise in drug development, biologics manufacturing, and clinical research. IATRICa's technology enables development of a diverse spectrum of immunoconjugates that are capable of activating potent targeted immune responses against various tumours or pathogens. The Companies will leverage and integrate their synergistic R&D expertise to formulate and test next-generation antibody-based immunoconjugates that are more effective than current therapeutic antibodies against cancers and infectious disorders. In addition to a co-development and licensing agreement, Biocon has also made an equity investment in IATRICa.
Announcing the partnership, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman and managing director, said, "We are delighted to announce this partnership with IATRICa to co-develop an exciting new class of biological antibody-based immunoconjugates that could potentially transform the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. This collaboration will dovetail IATRICa's innovative cuffing-edge technology and research expertise with Biocon's established expertise in the development, manufacturing, and clinical testing of biologic therapeutics. This symbiotic partnership should accelerate clinical development of innovative bio-hybrid molecules for targeted immunotherapy and thereby reinforce our shared endeavour to provide effective new treatments for major neoplastic and infectious diseases".
IATRICa is a privately held biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of novel targeted immunoconjugates for prevention or treatment of cancer and infectious disorders. IATRICa is a start-up company formed in 2007 with technology developed at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, and has exclusive licenses to the immunoconjugate technology invented by Johns Hopkins scientists and company founders, Dr Atul Bedi and Dr Rajani Ravi. The company is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Currently, there are two radio-immuno-conjugates, ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin) and tositumomabI (Bexxar), and one drug conjugate, gemtuzumab ozogamicin (Mylotarg) in the market.