NEW YORK, US/BASEL, SWITZERLAND: Lonza announced that Intellect Neurosciences awarded the future development and manufacture of the antibody drug conjugate CONJUMAB-A to Lonza, subject to completion of a definitive development and manufacturing agreement.
Lonza will supply the preclinical study material for drug optimization and drug selection for Intellect’s CONJUMAB-A, initially focusing on age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with potential applications for Alzheimer’s disease. Intellect Neurosciences is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in discovery and development of disease-modifying therapeutic agents for the treatment of proteinopathies.
The new programme is expected to include in-vitro and in-vivo studies to evaluate both therapeutic and prophylactic potential in AMD testing different chemical variants manufactured by Lonza. Intellect also plans to work with a number of independent specialized contract research organizations to evaluate the compounds produced by Lonza Chemical Manufacturing in Visp, Switzerland.
Intellect’s programme is led by Dan Shochat, PhD, Intellect Neurosciences’ Consulting Vice President of Development and pioneer in development of antibody drug conjugates for cancer treatments.
“CONJUMAB-A is a first-in-class drug compound intended to address an important unmet need in AMD, which is the leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 55. We anticipate improved efficacy compared to naked amyloid beta antibodies currently in clinical development for AMD. The selection of Lonza as our manufacturer, just under a year since we introduced the platform, represents an important next step in the evolution of Intellect Neurosciences,” said Dr Daniel Chain, Chairman and CEO, Intellect Neurosciences.
“We have already generated a detailed road map for optimization and manufacture of CONJUMAB-A and are excited to be associated with this entirely novel and promising application for antibody-drug conjugates,” said Stefan Stoffel, Head, Chemical Manufacturing, Lonza.
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