Abbott and Protein Design Labs Announce Broad, Long-Term Collaboration for Humanized Therapeutic Antibodies
07 Juin 2004 - 4:01PM
PR Newswire (US)
Abbott and Protein Design Labs Announce Broad, Long-Term
Collaboration for Humanized Therapeutic Antibodies ABBOTT PARK,
Ill. and FREMONT, Calif., June 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Abbott
Laboratories and Protein Design Labs, Inc. (PDL) today announced a
long-term collaboration that provides Abbott broad access to PDL's
technology for antibody humanization. Humanization is a process by
which antibodies with highly potent therapeutic properties are
engineered to be comprised of primarily human sequences while
retaining their potent therapeutic properties. Humanization
technology is a strategic component in Abbott's goal of generating
therapeutic antibodies targeted to unmet medical needs. This
technology will be applicable to all therapeutic areas of interest
at Abbott. Under the agreement, PDL will humanize up to three
antibodies for Abbott, and either company may humanize subsequent
antibodies at the election of Abbott. The agreement includes
milestone payments contingent upon meeting specified clinical and
commercial objectives, as well as royalties on sales of any
antibody humanized by either party under the agreement. Additional
financial terms were not disclosed. "This agreement with PDL
represents another important milestone in Abbott's continuing
mission to develop new drugs for unmet medical needs," said
Alejandro Aruffo, Ph.D., president, Abbott Bioresearch Center, and
divisional vice president, Pharmaceutical Discovery, Abbott
Laboratories. "PDL's humanization technology will significantly
enhance Abbott's industry- leading biologics platform. Having
world-class dual capabilities in both small-molecule and biologics
is critical as it allows us to pursue the best approach for each
discovery program to help us get better drugs to patients faster."
"We are pleased to collaborate with Abbott -- a global
pharmaceutical leader and a company that is clearly committed to
antibody-based therapeutics," said Mark McDade, chief executive
officer, PDL. "PDL's proven technology and our ability to engineer
effective humanized antibodies remain core strengths that can
effectively attract new partners, such as Abbott." Abbott currently
has exclusive rights to market the humanized antibody Synagis(R)
(palivizumab) outside of the United States. In the U.S., MedImmune
Inc. and Abbott have exclusive agreement to co-promote Synagis.
Synagis is a humanized antibody product licensed under PDL's
antibody humanization patents, and currently is the largest single
source of royalty revenues to PDL. About Protein Design Labs
Protein Design Labs is a leader in the development of humanized
antibodies to prevent or treat various disease conditions. PDL
currently has antibodies under development for autoimmune and
inflammatory conditions, asthma and cancer. PDL holds fundamental
patents for its antibody humanization technology. Further
information on PDL is available at http://www.pdl.com/ . About
Abbott Laboratories Abbott Laboratories is a global, broad-based
health care company devoted to the discovery, development,
manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products,
including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company
employs more than 55,000 people and markets its products in more
than 130 countries. Abbott's news releases and other information
are available on the company's Web site at http://www.abbott.com/ .
Protein Design Labs is a registered trademark and the PDL logo is a
trademark of Protein Design Labs, Inc. Synagis is a registered U.S.
trademark of MedImmune, Inc. DATASOURCE: Abbott Laboratories
CONTACT: Media, Jennifer Smoter, +1-847-935-8865, or Financial
Community, Larry Peepo, +1-847-935-6722, both of Abbott
Laboratories; James R. Goff of Protein Design Labs, Inc.,
+1-510-574-1421, Web site: http://www.abbott.com/
http://www.pdl.com/ Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/110328.html
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