REG - Fusion Antibodies - OptiMAL collaboration agreement

Fusion AntibodiesAnnouncement

28/11/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 8229U  Fusion Antibodies PLC  28 November 2023

28 November 2023

 

Fusion Antibodies plc

("Fusion" or the "Company")

 

OptiMAL(®) collaboration agreement

 

Fusion Antibodies plc (AIM: FAB), specialists in pre-clinical antibody
discovery, engineering and supply for both therapeutic drug and diagnostic
applications, announces that it has signed a collaboration agreement (the
"Agreement") with the National Cancer Institute ("NCI") for the use of
OptiMAL(®) in the discovery of novel antibodies against targets selected by
NCI.

 

Under the terms of the Agreement, Fusion will provide access to the
OptiMAL(®) technology to NCI for deployment against an agreed number of
targets, being primarily cancer targets, over a period of up to two years, in
order to develop potential therapeutic antibodies against the selected
targets. The parties will work together to ensure successful validation of the
OptiMAL(®) technology and jointly publish any results from the collaboration.
The validation will be run at NCI's laboratories by their staff and antibodies
identified pursuant to the Agreement would be retained by NCI.

 

NCI, part of the US National Institutes of Health, is the US federal
government's principal agency for cancer research and training.

 

Adrian Kinkaid, CEO of Fusion, commented: "At the time of our fundraise in
May, we said that we would be seeking the support of third parties to continue
to progress the delivery of OptiMAL(®). We are delighted to have been able to
secure a partner with the expertise of NCI to provide validation to the
technology without Fusion being required to commit significant resource to the
project."

 

Mitchell Ho, Ph.D., Deputy Chief, Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Director
of the Antibody Engineering Program, Center for Cancer Research, NCI
commented: "NCI will test the OptiMAL(®) platform for the discovery of novel
antibodies to cancer targets and also SARS-CoV-2. We have a particular
interest in Mammalian Cell Display as a discovery engine and look forward to
using this in NCI."

 

Richard Buick, CSO of Fusion, commented: "The expertise and experience of Dr.
Ho and his colleagues make NCI an ideal partner for validation of the
Optimal(®) library and mammalian cell display technology. I look forward to
the collaboration and working closely with the National Cancer Institute."

 

Enquiries:

 

 Fusion Antibodies plc                                 www.fusionantibodies.com
 Adrian Kinkaid, Chief Executive Officer               Via Walbrook PR

 Stephen Smyth, Chief Financial Officer

 Richard Buick, Chief Scientific Officer

 Allenby Capital Limited                               Tel: +44 (0)20 3328 5656
 James Reeve/Vivek Bhardwaj (Corporate Finance)

 Tony Quirke (Sales and Corporate Broking)

 Walbrook PR               Tel: +44 (0)20 7933 8780 or fusion@walbrookpr.com
 Anna Dunphy                                           Mob: +44 (0)7876 741 001

 

About Fusion Antibodies plc

 

Fusion is a Belfast based contract research organisation ("CRO") providing a
range of antibody engineering services for the discovery and development of
antibodies for both therapeutic drug and diagnostic applications.

 

The Company's ordinary shares were admitted to trading on AIM on 18 December
2017. Fusion provides a broad range of services in antibody design,
generation, development, production, characterisation and optimisation. These
services include antigen expression, antibody production, purification and
sequencing, antibody humanisation using Fusion's proprietary
CDRx (TM) platform and the production of antibody generating stable cell
lines to provide material for use in clinical trials. Since 2012, the Company
has successfully sequenced and expressed over 250 antibodies and successfully
completed over 200 humanisation projects and has an international, blue-chip
client base, which has included eight of the top 10 global pharmaceutical
companies by revenue.

 

The Company was established in 2001 as a spin out from Queen's University
Belfast. The Company's mission is to enable pharmaceutical and diagnostic
companies to develop innovative products in a timely and cost-effective manner
for the benefit of the global healthcare industry.

 

Fusion Antibodies growth strategy is based on combining the latest
technological advances with cutting edge science to deliver new platforms that
will enable Pharma and Biotech companies get to the clinic faster, with the
optimal drug candidate and ultimately speed up the drug development process.

 

The global monoclonal antibody therapeutics market was valued at $186 billion
in 2021 and is forecast to surpass $445 billion in 2028, an increase at a CAGR
of 13.2 per cent. for the period 2022 to 2028. Approximately 150 monoclonal
antibody therapies are approved and marketed globally as of June 2022 with the
top four antibody drugs each having sales of more than $3 bn in 2021.

 

 

 

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