16 Sep 2015 07:00
Horizon Discovery Group plc Enters Bioproduction Cell Line Licensing Agreement with LakePharma, Inc.
LakePharma to take a full commercial license for cell line from Horizon for improved efficiency in its biopharmaceutical manufacturingFirst commercial license is validation of Horizon's model of providing access to cutting edge bioproduction cells under flexible licensing termsCell line engineered by Horizon using its precision gene editing platformCell line was adapted by Lake Pharma and is now available exclusively from Horizon for further licensing to additional customers on non-exclusive licensing termsThe ability to market such cell lines for low six figure ($USD) annual or perpetuity licensing terms to customers engaged in over 1,600 active biopharmaceutical production programmes worldwide exemplars Horizon's leveraged approach to product development
Cambridge, UK, 16 September 2015: Horizon Discovery Group plc (LSE: HZD) ("Horizon"), the international life science company supplying research tools and services that power genomics research and the development of personalized medicines, today announces that its Bioproduction business has signed a license agreement with LakePharma, Inc., a leading contract research organization (CRO). The terms of the license cover commercial use of a genetically-engineered Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell line, developed by Horizon and adapted to manufacturing conditions by LakePharma.
Protein therapeutics represent a significant share of the top 50 drugs globally and are increasingly present in developmental pipelines. The provision and licensing of bioproduction cells for their manufacture, however, can be cost prohibitive and is often tied to long-term revenue-based licensing terms. Horizon's flexible licensing model with simplified terms and no associated royalties allows any organization with ambitions in the biopharmaceutical marketplace, including small to medium size biotechs and Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMOs), to access state of the art bioproduction cell lines.
In line with its strategic priorities, Horizon's approach allows any organization to access its state of the art bioproduction cell lines under reasonable and flexible licensing terms.
Dr Darrin M Disley, Horizon's Chief Executive Officer, said: "The license agreement with LakePharma, the first of its kind, serves as recognition and validation of our approach to developing novel bioproduction cell lines. Until now, cell line development has been a rate-limiting step for improving upstream bioprocessing. With precise gene editing we are able to provide a key step in the path toward delivering next generation biological medicines."
Dr. Fan Chen, Director of Bioprocessing, LakePharma, said: "The license agreement with Horizon allows us to offer a superior expression cell line to our customers, providing better value to them, while the one-time fee allows us maximal flexibility to utilize the cells to their best effect. I am delighted that the hard work we put in to adapting these cells has been reflected in their commercialization by Horizon."
For more information, please visit: http://www.horizondiscovery.com/about-us/our-company/news
ENDS
For further information from Horizon Discovery Group plc, please contact:
Consilium Strategic Communications (Financial Media and Investor Relations)
Amber Fennell / Jessica Hodgson / Matthew Neal / Laura Thornton
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5701
Email: horizon@consilium-comms.com
Zyme Communications (Trade and Regional Media)
Katie Odgaard
Tel: +44 (0)7787 502 947
Email: katie.odgaard@zymecommunications.com
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (NOMAD)
Corporate Finance: Freddy Crossley / Duncan Monteith / Fred Walsh
Broking: Tom Salvesen
Tel: +44 20 7886 2500
For further information from LakePharma, Inc. please contact:
Abby Kochavi
Marketing and Communications
Tel: +1 650-288-4891 or +1 888-406-568
Email: inquiries@lakepharma.com
About Horizon Discovery Group plc www.horizondiscovery.com/
Horizon is a revenue-generating life science group supplying research tools to organizations engaged in genomics research and the development of personalised medicines. Horizon has a diverse and international customer base of over 1,000 organizations across nearly 50 countries, including major pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic companies as well as leading academic research centers. The Group supplies its products and services into multiple markets, estimated to total in excess of £29 billion by 2015.
Horizon's core capabilities are built around its proprietary translational genomics platform, a high-precision and flexible suite of gene editing tools able to alter almost any endogenous gene sequence of human or mammalian cell-lines. Horizon offers circa 16,500 products, almost all of which are based on the application of gene editing to generate cell lines that accurately model the disease-causing mutations found in genetically based diseases. These 'patients-in-a-test-tube' are being used by customers to identify the effect of individual or compound genetic mutations on drug activity, patient responsiveness, and resistance, which may lead to the successful prediction of which patient sub-groups will respond to currently available and future drug treatments.
In addition, Horizon provides custom cell line and in vivo model generation services for research and bioproduction applications, quantitative molecular reference standards, in vivo disease models, and contract research and custom screening services.
Horizon is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market under the ticker "HZD", for further information please visit: www.horizondiscovery.com.
About LakePharma Inc www.lakepharma.com
LakePharma is a leading contract research organization (CRO) specializing in antibody and protein engineering, cell line development, and protein expression. Located in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area, LakePharma has developed numerous in-house technology platforms to provide cost-effective and high-quality services to its customers. Services can be fully integrated, creating a one-stop-shop solution for all of a customer's molecular biology, cell line, and protein needs.