Ablynx receives milestone payment for further Nanobody development

Published: 10-Mar-2008

Ablynx, a Belgian pioneer in the discovery and development of a novel class of antibody-derived therapeutic proteins, has received an undisclosed milestone payment from Novartis for an exclusive research license in one of the programmes that is a component of their ongoing r&d alliance.


Ablynx, a Belgian pioneer in the discovery and development of a novel class of antibody-derived therapeutic proteins, has received an undisclosed milestone payment from Novartis for an exclusive research license in one of the programmes that is a component of their ongoing r&d alliance.

Novartis and Ablynx are collaborating to discover and develop therapeutic Nanobodies for a range of disease areas, against a number of targets that are difficult to address with conventional antibodies and their fragments.

The alliance was entered into in December 2005, and extended in December 2007 for a further year. Under the terms of this ongoing agreement, Ablynx receives upfront fees, license fees and funding for research and development. In addition, Ablynx will be eligible for milestone payments and royalties upon commercialisation. Novartis has exclusive rights to develop and commercialise the Nanobody products resulting from the collaboration.

Edwin Moses, ceo and chairman of Ablynx, said: "We are pleased to see this first Nanobody programme from our collaboration with Novartis advancing to the next stage and to make progress in what is an important alliance for Ablynx."

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