Collaboration Agreement to Boost Discovery of Fully Human Antibodies for Therapeutic Use

The discovery of fully human antibodies for therapeutic use will be boosted by a recently announced collaboration between a major university research center and a dynamic biopharmaceutical development company.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Tarrytown, New York, USA) and The Experimental Therapeutics Institute (ETI) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York, NY, USA) have agreed to accelerate the discovery of fully human antibodies directed against therapeutic targets being studied by investigators at Mount Sinai.

Regeneron will provide Mount Sinai with access to its proprietary VelocImmune technology and will provide financial support to use this antibody discovery platform to generate antibodies against targets of interest and explore potential therapeutic applications for human disease.

Fully-human monoclonal antibodies are highly desirable as therapeutic agents, for in addition to the advantages of being very specific for and tightly binding to their therapeutic targets, fully-human antibodies avoid potential immune responses that may occur in patients receiving antibodies that contain nonhuman (typically mouse) components.

The Regeneron VelocImmune mouse uniquely expresses human antibody genes in the same robust fashion that mouse genes are typically expressed. Previously engineered human monoclonal antibody-producing mice were generated with old technologies that resulted in removal of the mouse constant regions that are critical for the mouse to make a strong immune response. In contrast, VelocImmune mice preserve the mouse constant regions and, therefore, have immune systems that mount a robust, humoral-immune response that is indistinguishable from that of a normal, wild-type mouse.

Mount Sinai has agreed to undertake preclinical research operations, and Regeneron has been granted an exclusive option to negotiate a license for future clinical development and commercialization of any antibody that is developed.

"It is through partnerships like this that Mount Sinai remains on the forefront of translational research and therapeutic discoveries, and we hope to soon see the fruits of our collaboration with Regeneron," said Dr. Dennis S. Charney, dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

"This agreement brings together Mount Sinai's deep biology and clinical expertise and Regeneron's unique antibody technology," said Dr. Drew Murphy, senior vice president for research at Regeneron. "Both our organizations are part of the rapidly maturing New York bioscience ecosystem and share a deep commitment to improving human health by pursuing innovative science."

Related Links:
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai