Sevion Announces Antibody Discovery Collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Innovation and Janssen
Source: Business Wire
Sevion Therapeutics Inc. ("Sevion" or the "Company") (OTCQB:SVON), a biopharmaceutical company which discovers, develops and acquires next-generation biologics, today announced a collaboration agreement with CNA Development, LLC, an affiliate of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Janssen) to discover antibodies using Sevion’s spatially addressed library platform. The collaboration facilitated by the Johnson & Johnson Innovation center in California will include discovery of antibodies against multiple targets in several therapeutic areas. Sevion and Janssen will jointly conduct research on antibodies discovered by Sevion, and Janssen will have an option to an exclusive license to develop, manufacture, and commercialize candidates resulting from the collaboration.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sevion will receive an up-front payment and research support payments for activities conducted in collaboration with Janssen. For candidates licensed by Janssen, Sevion would be eligible to receive payments upon the achievement of certain development and commercial milestones potentially totaling up to $125 million as well as low single digit royalties on product sales.
Ronald Martell, CEO of Sevion, noted, “We are excited to collaborate with Janssen, a recognized leader in antibody development and commercialization. This partnership applies the Sevion platform for discovering unique antibodies against important therapeutic targets.”
Unlike traditional antibody drug discovery methods, such as display methods or immunization, the Sevion platform enables discovery of antibodies against proteins that cannot be easily purified in functional form. Sevion’s addressed libraries allow screening directly on the cell surface, opening difficult transmembrane targets to antibody discovery.
Vaughn Smider, Chief Scientific Officer of Sevion, stated, “We believe our ability to identify antibodies against unpurified targets, particularly multispanning membrane proteins, and with different affinities and activities, will lead to breakthroughs in treatment for patients with serious disease. We are excited to work with the Janssen team to discover new and important drug candidates.”
About Sevion Therapeutics
Sevion Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company building and developing a portfolio of innovative therapeutics, from both internal discovery and acquisition, for the treatment of cancer and immunological diseases. The Company’s product candidates are derived from multiple key proprietary technology platforms: cell-based arrayed antibody discovery, ultralong antibody scaffolds and Chimerasome nanocages. Sevion has leveraged these technologies to build a pipeline of innovative product candidates. For more information, please visit SevionTherapeutics.com.
