BioWa Announces Expansion of Licenses to GlaxoSmithKline

PRINCETON, N.J., June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- BioWa, Inc. announced today that it has entered into two agreements with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). BioWa and GSK have amended their existing 2007 arrangement in order to provide GSK with extended access to BioWa's POTELLIGENT® Technology platform for the research, development and commercialization of their antibody therapeutics with enhanced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). The second license agreement provides GSK with access to BioWa's COMPLEGENT® Technology for enhancing the complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) of select GSK therapeutic antibodies. These two technologies may be used in a complementary or independent approach.

"We are very pleased about our expanded partnership with GSK, one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies," commented Dr. Masamichi Koike, BioWa's President and CEO. "We are confident that these technologies will contribute materially to GSK's efforts in monoclonal antibody based therapeutics."

Under the terms of the license agreements, BioWa grants GSK non-exclusive rights to research, develop and commercialize therapeutic antibodies generated through POTELLIGENT® and COMPLEGENT® Technologies for an undisclosed number of targets.  In return, BioWa will receive upfront and annual fees, development milestone payments and royalties on products. Other details of the agreement are not disclosed.

About POTELLIGENT® Technology

POTELLIGENT® Technology improves potency and efficacy of antibody therapeutics, by enhancing ADCC, one of the major mechanisms of action for antibody therapeutics. POTELLIGENT® Technology involves the reduction of the amount of fucose in the carbohydrate structure of an antibody using a proprietary fucosyltransferase-knockout CHO cell line as a production cell.  Research shows that POTELLIGENT® Technology dramatically enhances ADCC activity of an antibody in vitro, and significantly increases potency and efficacy of the antibody in vivo.  A number of POTELLIGENT® antibodies are being investigated in human clinical trials.

About COMPLEGENT® Technology

COMPLEGENT® Technology is a new technology developed by Kyowa Hakko Kirin that enhances one of the major mechanisms of action of an antibody, CDC. With an approach called isotype chimerism, in which portions of IgG3, an antibody's isotype, are introduced into corresponding regions of IgG1, the standard isotype for therapeutic antibodies, COMPLEGENT® Technology significantly enhances CDC activity beyond that of either IgG1 or IgG3, while retaining the desirable features of IgG1, such as ADCC, PK profile and Protein A binding. COMPLEGENT® Technology can be used together with POTELLIGENT® Technology, creating an even superior therapeutic Mab (AccretaMab® ) with enhanced ADCC and CDC activities.

About BioWa, Inc.

BioWa is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd., Japan's leading pharmaceutical and largest biotech company, and is the exclusive worldwide licensor of the AccretaMab® platform.  The AccretaMab® platform consists of POTELLIGENT® and COMPLEGENT® Technologies, creating a superior antibody molecule with enhanced ADCC and CDC activities.  BioWa is offering POTELLIGENT® and COMPLEGENT® Technologies to partners under a license to maximize the value of these technologies.  Together with Kyowa Hakko Kirin, BioWa is committed to promote ADCC/CDC enhanced monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics to fight cancer and other life-threatening and debilitating diseases.  For more information about BioWa, visit its web site at www.biowa.com.

POTELLIGENT®, COMPLEGENT®, and AccretaMab® are the trademarks of Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd.  All rights are reserved.

SOURCE BioWa, Inc.