CSL has gotten the Memo about the value of recombinant polyclonal immunoglobulin (IgG) antibodies.
The company is signing on to a collaboration and option agreement with Memo Therapeutics that could see up to 265 million Swiss Francs ($328 million) biobucks for products using Memo’s recombinant polyclonal immunoglobulin (IgG) technology.
The agreement includes Memo developing recombinant polyclonal IgG products using its Dropzylla technology platform for cloning human antibody repertoires and polyclonal antibody expression. With the deal, CSL has an option to exclusively license the products. If CSL exercises the option, Memo could earn up to $328 million in R&D funding, a licensing fee and development and sales milestones for the first product, plus a single-digit royalty.
“IgG immunotherapies are used to treat a wide range of illnesses including, congenital or acquired immunodeficiency and autoimmune disorders,” Memo’s CEO Erik van den Berg explained in a Monday release, adding that the collaboration validates its Dropzylla technology and “shared ambition to advance innovative IgG solutions.”
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On CSL’s side, the deal aims to “explore new treatment options for people with rare and serious diseases,” CSL senior vice president of global research Michael Wilson, Ph.D., commented.
Recombinant polyclonal human IgG antibodies mimic the body’s natural immune response and are produced in a lab, as opposed to being taken from human blood plasma. This allows for the development of specific and consistent polyclonal antibodies that can be further tailored for different therapeutic options.
Memo’s Dropzylla platform is an antibody repertoire copying engine based on microfluidic single-cell processing of human B cells, allowing the company to biobank large recombinant antibody libraries and isolate the most potent antibodies.
The discovery platform is supposed to achieve 100 times higher immune cell repertoire coverage compared with conventional approaches by creating “near complete” antibody repertoires, therefore identifying more potent antibodies than “any other technology,” Memo says on its website. The company has been eager to line up partnerships for the tech, noting on its site that it is “available for collaborative joint partnerships.”
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CSL, meanwhile, slashed its workforce in August in an attempt to cut R&D costs and move toward a more “optimal mix of internal capabilities and external partnerships,” a spokesperson told Fierce last summer.
The company is also undergoing a broader restructuring across its several business units that is expected to save between $500 million and $550 million a year progressively over the next three years.
