WuXi Biologics, a global contract research, development, and manufacturing organisation has announced that it has signed a service agreement with Chinese pharmaceutical company Sino Biopharm, to discover a first-in-class mAb against an undisclosed target.

Under the terms of the agreement, WuXi Biologics will provide integrated discovery services, including antibody generation, lead identification and optimisation, and developability assessment by leveraging its discovery technology platforms such as single B cell technology platform, which will enable Sino Biopharm to elect to an optimal preclinical mAb candidate with a designated target.

Sino Biopharm will have the exclusive rights of the mAb generated from this collaboration and assume full responsibility for the Investigational New Drug (IND) applications, clinical trials and commercialization. WuXi Biologics will receive payments based on the progress of project development and commercialization.

Commenting on the development, Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics, said, “We’re delighted to provide our proven integrated discovery platforms for Sino Biopharm to discover a first-in-class mAb. This agreement further reinforces the value of R (research) in our unique CRDMO model and highlights WuXi Bio’s role as the partner of choice in discovery services, including Chinese pharmaceutical companies in building innovative pipelines. It also strengthens the robust partnership between WuXi Biologics and Sino Biopharm. We look forward to offering global open-access technology platforms with unsurpassed speed and efficiency to support Sino Biopharm to transform their innovative ideas into new treatments for patients worldwide.”

Tse, Eric S Y, CEO of Sino Biopharm, commented, “This cooperation marks a significant step in our company’s internationalisation strategy. We are extremely delighted to have reached a service agreement with WuXi Biologics, leveraging its comprehensive and streamlined suite of solutions for biologic discovery. We believe that by combining WuXi Biologics’ profound know-how in antibody discovery and engineering together with Sino Biopharm’s expertise in biology and strong capabilities in drug research and development, we can continuously accelerate the development of differentiated innovative treatments, thus better benefiting patients worldwide.”