ImaginAb Expands ImmunoPET Pipeline to Include CD4+ T-Cell Imaging

LOS ANGELES and LEIPZIG, Germany, Sept. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- ImaginAb, Inc. today announced that it has entered into an exclusive technology development partnership with Novotectid GmbH for the development of antibody-based imaging agents to image CD4+ positive immune T cells.

"Our collaboration with Novotectid expands ImaginAb's capability to precisely diagnose and determine therapeutic options in both the immune-oncology and autoimmune disease areas. The ability to image CD4+ T-cells will also broaden the potential scope of several of our important pharma collaborations, particularly for autoimmune diseases," said Christian Behrenbruch, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of ImaginAb.

CD4+ T-cells play a fundamental role in autoimmune diseases and immune-oncology.  In oncology, CD4+ cells are increasingly recognized as playing a crucial and flexible role in the tumor microenvironment, possibly even contributing to immunologic tolerance of tumor cell proliferation. In the autoimmune setting, imaging of CD4+ cells and the strong correlation with T-helper immune function has the potential to be an effective method for both patient selection and therapeutic response assessment in a variety of clinically important diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease.

"We believe that CD4 imaging has broad applicability to further understand how to treat diseases that have an immunological underpinning," said Michael Lutz PhD, CEO of Novotectid. "To date, we have demonstrated a viable clinical proof of concept, safety and tolerability for imaging CD4+ cells with a monoclonal antibody fragment in arthritis patients. We have chosen to partner with ImaginAb in order to improve the manufacturability and clinical deployment of our technology, and to leverage several key biopharma collaborations."

Professor Anna Wu, PhD, Chief Scientist and Co-founder of ImaginAb said, "For patients with diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, there are no real effective or empirical methods for measuring treatment response. CD4 immunoPET imaging has the potential to identify the patients most suitable for a variety of commercially significant drugs such as anti-TNFs, and monitor therapeutic efficacy. This will also impact the clinical development of 'next generation' RA therapies currently under development, improving patient outcomes and reducing the cost to the healthcare system."

The financial terms of the partnership are not publicly disclosed.

About ImaginAb

ImaginAb is redefining therapeutic management by harnessing the power of antibody technology for in vivo imaging.  The company's proprietary antibody fragment platform yields actionable molecular information to guide treatment decisions in cancer and immunology. ImaginAb also collaborates with select biopharmaceutical partners to design imaging agents as companion diagnostics for therapeutic antibodies. ImaginAb's technology is positioned to deliver on the promise of precision medicine by improving patient outcomes and reducing the cost of healthcare. For more information, visit www.imaginab.com.

About Novotectid

Novotectid is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel targeted in vivo imaging agents for the management of immuno-inflammatory diseases. The company's lead program, based on a monoclonal antibody targeting CD4, has accomplished clinical proof-of-concept in arthritis patients and may have applicability in a wide variety of autoimmune and immune-oncology disease settings.

SOURCE ImaginAb, Inc.