Selexis SA Enters Into Cooperative Relationship Agreement with Henogen SA
Henogen to Use Selexis Technology Platform for Mammalian Cell Line Development
Geneva, Switzerland – April 11, 2006 - Selexis SA, a Swiss-based biotechnology company specializing in high yield and stable cell line development for therapeutic proteins announced today that it has entered into a non-exclusive cooperative relationship agreement with Henogen SA (“Henogen”). Under the agreement, Henogen will have access to the Selexis technology platform and expertise for cell population generation (cell pool) and cell line development.
Specifically, Henogen will have the right to use the Selexis engineered cell lines at their Belgium production facility to produce proteins and antibodies for product research, development and manufacturing.
“We are pleased with the Henogen/Selexis alliance,” said Igor Fisch, CEO of Selexis. “Cell lines engineered with the Selexis technology platform and expertise will help Henogen customers get proteins and antibodies from gene to clinical validation faster and more cost efficient.”
Selexis’ technology platform, which includes MARtech™, is a proprietary system that improves the speed, yield and stability of production cell lines used for therapeutic protein manufacturing. Based on proprietary human MAR (Matrix Attachment Region), the patented MARtech™ enables cell population generation in 4 weeks (after transfection) and stable cell line development in 10 weeks (after transfection to first round of cell cloning). Additionally, MARtech™ has been found to increase recombinant protein expression in mammalian cells in suspension and in serum-free more than 10 fold.
"We are very excited to be utilizing Selexis’ world class cell line development technology and expertise,” said Dr. Alex Bollen, Henogen’s CEO. "We believe Selexis’ technology platform may improve our large scale production of monoclonal antibodies and therapeutic proteins. Additionally, our customers will benefit from Selexis’ ability to quickly and efficiently identify highproducing clones that enhance production yields.”
About Selexis
Selexis is a privately held biotechnology company dedicated to the development of expert
services and innovative technologies for comprehensive and rapid solutions for stable, high yield
mammalian cell line development and protein manufacturing for therapeutic drugs. The
Company’s unique seven step process, which includes Selexis’ forth generation patented
MARtech™, reduces traditional cell line development (DHFR) from 12 months to 3 months (after
transfection to isolating cell clones) without any change in the scale-up process. For more
information please visit http://www.selexis.com
About Henogen S.A.
Henogen is a biotechnology company addressing biomanufacturing issues under the general
umbrella “from gene to clinical product.” The Company has extensive knowledge in performing
and/or accompanying partners through R&D, process development, cGMP production and phase
I to III clinical trials. Among the products previously developed and produced are recombinant
proteins, gene therapy viral vectors, vaccines and monoclonal antibodies. For more information
please visit http://www.henogen.com