Laureate in agreement to manufacture lead product candidate for Cytheris

US biopharma development and protein production company Laureate Pharma has entered into a cGMP contract manufacturing agreement with Cytheris, of France, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on research and development of new therapies for immune modulation.

According to the agreement, Laureate will manufacture Cytheris's lead product candidate, Interleukin-7 (IL-7), a fully glycosylated recombinant human protein and critical growth factor for immune T-cell recovery, for use in ongoing international clinical trials currently being conducted for treatment of HIV, HCV and cancer. Terms and conditions of the agreement were not disclosed.

Recombinant human Interleukin-7 (r-hIL-7) is a critical growth factor for immune T-cell recovery and enhancement. Clinical investigations conducted on more than 75 patients in Europe, the US and Canada have suggested the potential of r-hIL-7 to expand and protect CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells.

'As we move towards large scale production of our IL-7 biotherapeutic, we are pleased to continue our strong working relationship with Laureate Pharma,' said Michel Morre, president and ceo of Cytheris. 'With Laureate's demonstrated skill in successful transfer of process technology, we look forward to continuing to work together in the process scale-up, engineering and clinical material production of IL-7 for our ongoing clinical trials investigating multiple indications.'