An idea is something that won’t work unless you do. – Thomas Edison
As I look around our new corporate headquarters and laboratories, I am reminded of how far Selexis has come since we began our work in cell line generation more than 15 years ago. 2017 was certainly no exception and I’m so proud of our many accomplishments. Though it is critical to focus on our continued forward momentum, I felt it important to take a step back and remind us all of the many milestones we’ve achieved in 2017 through hard work, dedication and collaboration with leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies worldwide. I thank you all for joining Selexis on our journey.
GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS
From new and expanded commercial license agreements with small biotechs and large multinational pharmas alike, to our acquisition by JSR Life Sciences, we have together navigated 2017 with great success. In May, we were honored to dedicate a new state-of-the art lab and corporate headquarters in Geneva alongside our employees and special guests. The ability to advance science and further the economic vitality of the biotech community in Geneva is truly special and it was wonderful to celebrate the occasion. On the heels of that important milestone, Selexis was acquired by JSR Life Sciences. Through Selexis’ alliance with fellow JSR subsidiary, KBI Biopharma, we have become part of a next-generation CDMO for the biopharmaceutical industry. The acquisition enables Selexis to add end-to-end value to our service offerings.
Selexis has also developed agreements with numerous partners that are leveraging our SUREtechnology Platform™ to bring life-saving therapies to patients facing diseases where there is tremendous unmet need. In fact, 85 biologic drugs are currently in clinical development leveraging our technology as well as three commercial products in the areas of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and cancer. In 2017, we not only expanded our current relationship with OSE Imunotherapeutics, but also formed exciting new agreements with Sanofi, Merck KGaA, TeneoBio, Inc., Takeda and Pelican Therapeutics across a range of therapeutic areas.
TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENTS
2017 also marked the introduction of Selexis’ new SUREselect cell selection platform, which is designed to screen and pick cells with optimal expression levels. This new development of the SUREtechnology Platform both plays a role in reducing bottlenecks in process development AND can rescue programs that otherwise would not be viable for clinical development based on production requirements.
COMMITMENT TO R&D
As a scientific enterprise, research is at the core of our mission to help companies advance their candidates in the clinic and reach patients in need. Along with Spinomix SA and the University of Lausanne, we announced the publication of data from our work together in Biotechnology and Bioengineering. The research yielded the development of a two-step automated cell processing and sorting technology that when used with more traditional clone-picking techniques can result in a 23-fold enrichment in the number of highly secreting cells.
Day in and day out, we at Selexis work tirelessly to further optimize our technology and deliver the innovation and expertise that our partners rely upon. It is fulfilling to know that we play a valuable role in advancing drugs into the clinic and, most importantly, into the hands of those patients so desperately in need. That is what it is all about for Selexis. Please join us as we look with anticipation and renewed energy to 2018.
