Abzena, the life sciences group providing integrated solutions and technologies enabling the development and manufacture of biopharmaceutical products, and UGA Biopharma GmbH, a cell line development specialist, announced the completion of the development of a biosimilar cell line to treat MS.
The partnership centred around the development of an NS0 (murine myeloma) manufacturing cell line, expressing a high quality, fully biosimilar antibody therapeutic.
The cell line was developed and validated using Abzena’s integrated expert knowledge in cell line development and bioanalytics and was guided by UGA Biopharma’s in-depth knowledge and experience in the development of cell lines for biosimilar drugs.
UGA will join an expanding field of companies looking to capitalise on the patent expiry of several blockbuster drugs over the coming years.
The originator therapeutic is undisclosed but it is currently being used in the treatment of MS. It had worldwide sales of approximately $1.9bn in 2016.
