PPD invests US$25m in drug discovery jv with Taijitu
BioDuro Biologics joint venture expands services offered by PPD
PPD, a US-based contract research organisation providing drug discovery services, has established a joint venture with Taijitu Biologics Limited (TBL) focusing on biotherapeutics.
The joint venture, named BioDuro Biologics, expands PPD’s biopharmaceutical capabilities, the firm said.
PPD owns a majority stake in the joint venture and will invest US$25m.
BioDuro Biologics will develop a technology for the discovery of monoclonal antibody therapies with MAB Discovery of Munich, Germany. The joint venture will provide drug discovery services based on this technology to global biopharmaceutical companies, enabling them to discover monoclonal antibodies against both novel and validated targets.
PPD says Singapore-based BioDuro Biologics will enable the firm to capitalise on the rapid growth of biotherapeutics. It also creates opportunities for BioDuro, PPD’s drug discovery business in Beijing, acquired in 2009, to provide additional services for antibodies discovered using the new technology.
Stephan Fischer, founder and co-owner of TBL and MAB Discovery, is a member of BioDuro Biologics’ board of directors and will lead the development of the technology platform, which should be completed by June.
‘The joint venture with PPD allows TBL and MAB Discovery to derive the strongest value from our novel technology platform and provides us with revenues to drive our internal drug discovery efforts,’ said Fischer.
The technology will also extend PPD’s breadth of services offered through its Vaccines & Biologics Center of Excellence, a recently established network of integrated laboratory services for vaccine and biologic drug development.