The agreement sees Israeli genomics-based drug and diagnostic discovery company access the SUREtechnology mammalian cell line-based protein expression platform to help develop its immune-oncology products.
The tech platform is based on Selexis’s SURE CHO-M cell line – derived from CHO-K1 cells – engineered to help improve production of recombinant proteins through an optimised feed strategy.
According to Selexis CEO Igor Fisch, the platform has been used to generate nearly 100 clonal research cell banks that have reached clinical manufacturing, and for three commercialized biologics.
For this latest agreement, “the research cell banks were generated at Selexis using the SUREtechnology Platform,” Fisch told Biopharma-Reporter.
“Selexis is able to transfer the high-expressing and stable research cell banks, the feed strategy, and the scale-up process to Compugen’s manufacturer or CMO [contract manufacturing organisation].”
Compugen’s lead product COM701 is an immuno-oncology antibody candidate set to enter clinical trials later this year, following an Investigational New Drug (IND) filing with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this quarter. The firm also has two other candidates in preclinical development, including an autoimmune Fc fusion protein licensed to Bayer.
Although financial terms were not disclosed, Fisch said each SUREtechnology licensing agreement comprises an upfront fee with potential milestones and royalties on sales. “All Selexis-generated cell lines are developed at the Selexis headquarters and laboratories located in Geneva, Switzerland.”