Abzena Signs Antibody Manufacturing Development Agreement with UCL

Abzena, a CDMO providing services and technologies to enable the development and manufacture of biopharmaceutical products, has signed an agreement with University College London (UCL), United Kingdom, to manufacture magacizumab, an antibody created using the ‘Abzena inside’ Composite Human Antibody technology.

In previous agreements with UCL, Abzena conducted the antibody humanization and developed the manufacturing cell line for magacizumab. Under this new service agreement, Abzena will manufacture magacizumab at its biomanufacturing facility in San Diego, CA, US. For Abzena, this program is the first to proceed with Abzena through each of the phases of humanization, cell line development, and into manufacture. 

UCL Institute of Ophthalmology is developing magacizumab for the treatment of neovascular (or wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition that affects older people and can lead to loss of vision due to abnormal blood vessel growth. The antibody targets LRG1 (leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein 1), which researchers at UCL identified as having a role in promoting the growth of pathological blood vessels.  The project is funded by the Medical Research Council’s Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme. UCL Business, the technology commercialization arm of UCL, currently owns the patents for magacizumab. Under the previous antibody humanization agreement with UCL, Abzena will receive a milestone payment once the antibody enters clinical development.

Source: Abzena