Catalent Biologics Announces Collaboration With Roche on SMARTag Technology
Catalent, Inc., the leading global provider of advanced delivery technologies and development solutions for drugs, biologics, and consumer health products, recently announced, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Redwood Bioscience, Inc., a research collaboration with Roche to develop next-generation molecules coupling different therapeutic modalities using Catalent’s proprietary SMARTag technology.
Roche will gain non-exclusive access to the SMARTag platform and will have an option to take commercial licenses to develop molecules directed to a defined number of targets. Use of SMARTag, Catalent’s programmable protein-modification technology, combined with the highly stable hydrazino-Pictet-Spengler (HIPS) conjugation platform, will permit evaluation of alternative sites of drug conjugation so that Roche may develop molecules optimized for efficacy, safety and stability.
Roche will pay Catalent an up-front fee of $1 million and provide additional research funding during the initial phase of the collaboration. Catalent has the potential to receive up to $618 million in development and commercial milestones, plus royalties on net sales of products, if Roche pursues commercial licenses and all options are exercised.
“Roche is a pioneer and leader in biologics for oncology and beyond, and we look forward to working with the Roche team to support development of their next generation of medicines,”said Mike Riley, Catalent Biologics’ Vice President/General Manager. “Our goal is to combine our differentiated SMARTag technology with Roche’s expertise to create new transformational treatments.”
The proprietary SMARTag site-specific protein-modification and linker technologies were developed by Redwood Bioscience to enable the generation of homogenous bioconjugates engineered to enhance potency, safety, and stability. The technology employs natural post-translational modifications found in human cells to create one or more aldehyde tags at designated sites on protein molecules. These chemical “handles’’ are then stably conjugated to payloads (eg, cytotoxic or effector) to prevent their systemic release. The SMARTag platform provides precise payload positioning, stable, site-specific conjugation, and defined stoichiometry of drug–protein ratios. The control afforded by the technology enables identification of superior drugs from libraries of differentially designed conjugates. Catalent acquired Redwood Bioscience in 2014.
Catalent, Inc. is the leading global provider of advanced delivery technologies and development solutions for drugs, biologics, and consumer health products. With over 80 years serving the industry, Catalent has proven expertise in bringing more customer products to market faster, enhancing product performance, and ensuring reliable clinical and commercial product supply. For more information, visit www.catalent.com.
Total Page Views: 1124
