Core Manufacturing Technology is Key Milestone on Airway’s Path to Market
Cincinnati, Ohio, 11 September 2017- Airway Therapeutics, LLC, [Airway] a biotech company focused on developing new interventions for acute and chronic lung diseases, today announced an exclusive licensing agreement with the German biotechnology company, Glycotope GmbH [Glycotope]. Under the terms of this agreement, Airway receives worldwide commercial rights to use Glycotope’s proprietary cell line technology, GlycoExpress® [GEX], to produce AT-100 (rhSP-D), one of Airway’s development programs. The GlycoExpress technology has been shown to be well suited to the development and large-scale manufacturing of a wide range of biologics, including antibodies as well as complex and difficult to express proteins.
“We are pleased to enter into this agreement with Glycotope and reach another significant milestone on AT-100’s path to market. Our manufacturing development is on track and on schedule,” said Marc Salzberg, MD, President and CEO of Airway Therapeutics.
The Glycotope cell line is designed to optimize the manufacturing of AT-100. Advantages include high-yield production of AT-100, fast production cycles and the provision of human glycosylation patterns on the final protein product. The extraordinarily efficient cell line has produced high-quality protein and will serve as the basis for the production of Airway’s protein for use in humans.
“We are very pleased to be working with Airway on this highly challenging and exciting project. Compared to CHO cells, the GlycoExpress® technology has been shown to be a superior expression host for this difficult to express protein” said Henner Kollenberg, Managing Director at Glycotope.
About Airway Therapeutics:
AIRWAY is a biotech company focused on developing new interventions for acute and chronic lung diseases in the most vulnerable of patients. Founded in 2011 as a spin-out of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Airway Therapeutics has extensive expertise in protein development for applications in the lungs and pediatrics. Airway Therapeutics is currently developing an investigational product, AT-100, a recombinant form of human surfactant protein-D (rhSP-D), for the prevention of a serious lung condition called bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in preterm neonates.
About BPD (Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia):
BPD is caused by arrested lung development in premature neonates and can lead to death or life-long lung and neurodevelopment conditions. Today, current therapies lack critical proteins necessary to prevent the onset of BPD.
Approximately 160,000 preterm neonates are at high risk for BPD each year in North America and Europe. Up to 20% of preterm neonates may be afflicted with BPD, with approximately 50% of these patients being not expected to survive.
About Glycotope:
Glycotope, founded in 2001 in Berlin, focuses on the development of innovative immune-oncological products for the treatment of various cancer types using their GlycoBody and GlycoExpress® technologies. Glycotope has currently two products in advanced clinical development. The Company’s additional pipeline includes preclinical non-antibody and antibody biopharmaceuticals for various indications.
Glycotope’s GlycoExpress® (GEX®) platform allows glyco-optimization and high yield production of a variety of fully human glycosylated biopharmaceuticals such as coagulation factors, cytokines, glycoprotein hormones and antibodies by using a toolbox of glyco-engineered proprietary human cell lines that allow for optimization of a whole series of different determining sugars. In addition, the GEX® platform can be used for in process glycosylation control.
For more information about Airway Therapeutics, please contact Ms. Sandra Roberts at info@airwaytheradev.wpengine.com.
For more information about Glycotope, please contact Mr. Lars Stoeckl at service@glycotope.com.
