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ABLYNX ANNOUNCES EXTENSION OF NANOBODY® DRUG
DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE
GHENT, Belgium, 10 December 2007 - Ablynx [Euronext
Brussels: ABLX], a pioneer in the discovery and development of Nanobodies®,
a novel class of antibody-derived therapeutic proteins, announced today that
its drug discovery and development alliance with Novartis has been extended
for another year.
Under the terms of the agreement, entered into in December 2005, the
companies are collaborating to discover and develop novel Nanobody® based
therapeutics against disease targets that are difficult to address with
conventional antibodies or their fragments. Novartis has exclusive right to
develop and commercialise the Nanobody® products resulting from the
collaboration.
As part of the collaboration Ablynx receives license fees and funding for
research and development: these are now extended for a further year. In
addition, Ablynx is eligible for milestone payments and royalties upon
commercialization.
Edwin Moses, CEO and Chairman of Ablynx, commented: "We are delighted our
collaboration with Novartis, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies
with a significant track record in innovative drug development, is extended
for another year. This is an important partnership for Ablynx and we look
forward to progressing our joint efforts to advance the Nanobody®-based
programmes to the next stage.
- Ends -
About Ablynx – http://www.ablynx.com
Founded in 2001 in Ghent, Belgium, Ablynx is a biopharmaceutical company
focused on the discovery and development of Nanobodies®, a novel class of
therapeutic proteins based on single-domain antibody fragments, for a range
of serious and life-threatening human diseases. The Company currently has
over 130 employees. Ablynx completed a successful IPO on Euronext Brussels [ABLX]
on 7 November 2007.
Ablynx is developing a portfolio of Nanobody®-based therapeutic programmes
in a number of major disease areas, including inflammation, thrombosis,
oncology and Alzheimer’s disease. Nanobodies® have been generated against
more than 100 different disease targets. Efficacy data has been obtained in
16 in vivo models for Nanobodies® against a range of different targets.
Ablynx has an extensive patent position in the field of Nanobodies® for
healthcare applications. It has exclusive and worldwide rights to more than
fifty families of granted patents and pending patent applications, including
the Hamers patents covering the basic structure, composition, preparation
and uses of Nanobodies®.
Ablynx has ongoing research collaborations and significant partnerships with
several major pharmaceutical companies, including Boehringer Ingelheim,
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, and P&G Pharma. Ablynx is building a
diverse and broad portfolio of therapeutic Nanobodies® through these
collaborations as well as through its own internal discovery programmes.
Ablynx announced interim Phase I data from its first programme, an anti-thrombotic
(ALX-0081) in July 2007 and another programme, which is partnered, is in
advanced preclinical development.
Nanobody® is a registered trademark of Ablynx NV.
For more information, please contact:
College Hill Life Sciences for UK/International media enquiries -
Sue Charles, Justine Lamond, Holly Griffiths
t: +44 (0)20 7457 2020
f: +44 (0)20 7866 7900
e: ablynx@collegehill.com
Ablynx:
Dr. Edwin Moses
Chairman and CEO
t: +32 (0)9 262 00 07
m: +44 (0)7771 954 193 / +32 (0)473 39 50 68
e: edwin.moses@ablynx.com
Eva-Lotta Allan
Chief Business Officer
t: +32 (0)9 262 00 75
m: +32 (0)475 78 36 21 / +44 (0)7990 570 900
e: eva-lotta.allan@ablynx.com
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