Roche and Epitomics Inc. entered into a research agreement granting Roche a license to Epitomics’ rabbit monoclonal antibody technology (RabMab technology) for the discovery and development of monoclonal antibodies to treat cancer and other diseases.

In a departure from conventional methods of biological drug discovery, which use mouse antibodies, Epitomics’ unique approach utilises monoclonal antibodies from rabbits, potentially improving the quality and efficiency of drug discovery. Epitomics will receive event payments and future royalties on worldwide sales of products developed from RabMab technology, claims a company release.

“We are very pleased that Roche has chosen Epitomics as a partner to enhance its drug discovery programme. Our agreement with Roche is a solid validation of RabMab technology by a large pharma partner. RabMabs represent a new approach for the development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. Its advantages include ultra-high affinity, novel epitope recognition and ease of validation in preclinical studies,” said Dr. Guo-Liang Yu, CEO and president of Epitomics Inc.

“Roche believes that innovation is driven by truly differentiated scientific and technological approaches to medicine. In line with our therapeutic protein initiative, this partnership offers a progressive and complementary approach to biologic drug discovery,” said Klaus Strein, Roche’s head of pharma research, Penzberg, Germany.

The release further claims that RabMab technology is used for the discovery and development of monoclonal antibodies to treat cancer and other diseases. Compared to currently available MAb technology on the market, such as mouse hybridomas, Epitomics' technology can generate RabMAbs more efficiently and can offer RabMAbs with superior binding affinity and bioactivity in a wide variety of biological assays. The high throughput and robust nature of the technology allows for the simultaneous discovery of disease targets and potential therapeutic antibodies in the same experiments, significantly shortening the drug discovery and development cycle.