Today, Human Genome Sciences, Inc. and Morphotek®, Inc., a subsidiary of Eisai Corporation of North America, announced together that they have entered into a collaboration to discover, develop and commercialize therapeutic monoclonal antibodies in the fields of oncology and immunology, specifically targeting antigens discovered by HGS.

“The rapid commercialization of our late-stage compounds continues to be the priority focus of HGS. At the same time, we also remain committed to advancing our earlier and mid-stage programs in development to ensure sustainable growth well into the future,” stated H. Thomas Watkins, President and Chief Executive Officer, HGS. “We look forward to collaborating with Morphotek to develop targeted new therapies based on our discoveries and extensive intellectual property estate.”

As the terms of the agreement, Morphotek will be accountable for validating targets discovered through genomic research and provided by HGS, generating and developing all monoclonal antibody candidates, as well as conducting early preclinical proof of concept studies. Under particular circumstances, HGS and Morphotek may share research and development, manufacturing and commercialization costs.

“Our proprietary technologies have been applied successfully to a variety of biological targets, and we look forward to collaborating with Human Genome Sciences to apply our antibody technology to a range of novel targets that stem from HGS’s genomic discovery research,” said Nicholas Nicolaides, Ph.D., President and CEO of Morphotek.

“This agreement is a continuation of our business model of leveraging access to targets from collaborators that have identified them using their internal expertise/technologies, applying Morphotek’s technologies to develop lead antibodies and then through active collaboration with our partners validating the therapeutic potential of our antibodies in preclinical and if warranted clinical studies,” he added.

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