iBio, Inc. (NYSEA:IBIO) (“iBio” or the “Company”), a biotech innovator and biologics contract manufacturing organization, has taken another major step towards leveraging the speed and throughput of its proprietary, plant-based FastPharming Protein Expression System® by announcing today it is adding three anti-cancer targets to its pipeline of therapeutic candidates. This development establishes the Company’s new drug discovery capabilities announced just a few weeks ago.
As part of iBio’s efforts to change the drug development paradigm with the FastPharming System by reducing the time and cost to move from initial concept to the clinic, the Company intends to partner with best-in-class technology partners to help achieve that vision. Accordingly, iBio has entered into a research services agreement with FairJourney Biologics S.A. (“FairJourney”), leaders in antibody optimization. Pursuant to the agreement, iBio will gain access to novel display technologies and proprietary antibody libraries.
“We believe combining our ‘speed-to-clinic’ advantages and Glycaneering TechnologiesTM with the antibody optimization technologies provided by FairJourney may enable us to quickly develop differentiated cancer therapeutic antibodies with improved antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, or ADCC,” said Martin B. Brenner, DVM, Ph.D., iBio’s Chief Scientific Officer.
António Parada, CEO at FairJourney commented, “Our experience in antibody discovery for use in oncology has grown in recent years, with a number of undisclosed collaborations rapidly moving towards the clinic. We are excited to work with an innovator like iBio, which we believe has the ability to change the bioprocess paradigm, using its proprietary glycosylation technologies to enhance human anti-cancer antibody development.”
