MicroConstants China In-licenses Global Rights of AA98 Antibody Drug Candidates from Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
BEIJING, Jan. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- MicroConstants China Inc., announced today that it has signed a licensing agreement to gain the global rights for the development of AA98 antibody drug candidates for the treatment of various cancers, multiple sclerosis (MS), and age related macular degeneration (AMD) from the Institute of Biophysics (IBP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). MicroConstants China will be responsible for the development costs. Upfront and milestones payments in excess of 100 million Yuan RMB as well as royalty payments are anticipated for IBP in connection with the successful development and global sales of the AA98 antibody derived diagnostics and drugs.
AA98 series of antibodies were discovered by Prof. Yan, Xiyun and act on a novel drug target, CD146, which is a co-receptor of VEGF. Over the past ten years, Prof. Yan's lab has demonstrated that AA98 blocks CD146 functions and can be used for the treatment of various tumors, especially for the triple-negative breast cancer. Research findings on CD146 and AA98 were published in "Nature Communications", "Blood" and "PNAS", and she was awarded the Scientific Achievement Award (First Place) by the Beijing City government.
Prof. Yan, Xiyun, Director of Key Laboratory of Protein and Peptide Drugs of IBP, is very pleased with the licensing agreement. "Through MicroConstants China's well established global drug development network and its global GLP/GCP compliance quality system, we will be able to expedite AA98 antibody drug development efforts. This will become a new model for industry and academic collaborations and licensing."
"The execution of this licensing agreement with IBP verifies our business model in drug incubation and is an important milestone for MicroConstants China," said Dr. Q. David Yang, Chief Executive Officer of MicroConstants China. "CD146 is a novel potential drug target discovered by Chinese scientists and can be used for the screening of drug candidates for the diagnosis and treatment of variety of human disorders. As a world renowned scientist, Prof. Yan's reputation is built upon her thoroughness in her research. Her work laid the foundation for the selection of AA98 antibody drug candidates. I am honored that Prof. Yan chose MicroConstants China as the partner for AA98 antibody development."
About Institute of BioPhysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was established in 1958 and operates the National Key Laboratory of Biomacromolecules and the National Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. It is also the home of CAS Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, CAS Key Laboratory of Nucleic Acid Research, and institute-level key laboratories for research on protein and peptide drugs. The mission of the Institute is to carry out basic frontier research in a multi/interdisciplinary manner to achieve strategic breakthroughs in areas of structural biology of proteins, brain and cognitive sciences, infection and immunity, non-coding RNA, and protein and peptide drugs, among others. The Institute emphasizes applied and translational research related to biomedicine and diagnostic methods, and has developed state-of-the-art instruments, key technologies and experimental methods for bioresearch. For more information, please visit http://english.ibp.cas.cn
About MicroConstants China Inc.
MicroConstants China Inc. was established by Dr. Gilbert Lam, founder of MicroConstants, Inc., a bioanalysis and DMPK specialty Contract Research Organization in San Diego, California, USA, and Dr. Q. David Yang, with over 20 years drug development experience in U.S. and China. MicroConstants China provides regulated bioanalysis and early stage clinical trial services to meet global drug registration requirements. It also brought advanced clinical trial technologies, such as cardiac safety studies and an eCOA/ePRO system to China. Recently, MicroConstants China established a fully owned subsidiary, Microtech China Inc., to serve as an incubator for new drug development. It has gained the Greater China rights for a Phase II stage polypeptide drug candidate for the treatment of cancer. It has established a global drug development network to expedite the drug development process with significant cost savings. For more information, please visit: http://www.microconstants.com.cn.
SOURCE MicroConstants China Inc.
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