Selexis Expands European Production and Business Operations
New facilities and staff will meet needs of rapidly growing client base, enable continued product innovation
Geneva, Switzerland - Feb 13, 2007
Selexis SA, a Swiss-based biotechnology company specializing in high yield and stable cell line development for therapeutic proteins, announced today the expansion of the company's Swiss-based production and business operations. Specifically, Selexis has expanded its protein production facility opened in 2005, as well as the company's administrative offices and key staff.
During 2006, Selexis grew its client base by 100 percent and experienced a record number of license renewals. The new facilities and staff will enable the company to effectively service current and future clients, while providing needed capacity to continue evolving and improving its SURE Cell Line Development SM services and technologies. Selexis' Swiss-based facilities now include 4,305 additional square feet.
"By increasing our cell line development capacity, we have ensured that we can keep pace with the needs of our clients and, more broadly, the rapidly expanding needs of the global therapeutic protein market," said Dr. Igor Fisch, CEO, Selexis SA. "We've also enhanced the value Selexis can provide to our customers through the creation of two key staff positions."
Raymond Jacquet, PhD, has been appointed head of cell culture. Dr. Jacquet, who brings significant scientific experience from the pharmaceutical, biotech and contract research industries, will oversee production and research related to mammalian cell culture. Prior to joining Selexis, Dr. Jacquet worked at Merck Serono, leading protein production in the mammalian cells group. At Schering-Plough, where Dr. Jacquet worked after completing his graduate studies, he was in charge of mammalian cell culture and scale-up at the company's Swiss-based biotechnology cGMP facility. Dr. Jacquet holds a PhD in peptide chemistry from the University of Lausanne.
Regine Brokamp has been appointed head of operations, a job which includes primary responsibility for all client interface. On a day-to-day basis, Brokamp will ensure that Selexis clients are fully aware of the status of their respective projects and, as projects are completed, ensure the efficient transfer of technology.
Brokamp has more than 15 years of experience and knowledge in cell line and process development. Prior to joining Selexis, Brokamp was in charge of cell culture and fermentation at Micromet AG. Additionally, she worked at the Max-Plank Institute in the Biochemistry Department with a focus on cell biology.
About Selexis' SURE Cell Line Development SM Services and Technology
The Selexis SURE Cell Line Development SM services and technology platform enables fast, stable and high yield cell lines that produce proteins and antibodies for a rapidly growing class of medicines known as biopharmaceuticals.
About Selexis
Selexis is a privately held biotechnology company dedicated to the development of innovative technologies and expert services for the development of stable, high yield mammalian cell lines used in recombinant protein manufacturing. The Company's unique technology platform, which includes Selexis' forth generation patented MARtech™, reduces traditional cell line development (DHFR) from 12 months to 5 weeks (after transfection to isolating cell clones) without any change in the scale-up process. For more information please visit http://www.selexis.com
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are often signaled by forms of words such as should, could, will, might, plan, projection, forecast, expect, guidance, potential and developing. These statements are only predictions and actual events or results in future periods may differ materially from what is currently anticipated. In particular, we cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully develop or commercialize products based on our technology, particularly in light of the significant uncertainty inherent in developing drug delivery products, conducting clinical trials and obtaining regulatory approvals, that our technologies will prove to be safe and effective, that our joint ventures or our collaborations with other companies in the U.S. and abroad will successfully develop products or become profitable, that our business strategy will be successful or that we will be able to carry out our plans for 2007.
MARtech™ is a trademark of Selexis, SA.
SURE Cell Line Development SM is a trademark of Selexis SA.