IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD. and the Pierre Fabre pharmaceutical group announced today that IPA’s subsidiary, Talem Therapeutics LLC (“Talem”), and Pierre Fabre have entered a multi-year, multi-target research collaboration with the goal to discover and develop therapeutics antibodies for up to nine targets. This strategic collaboration is expected to help expand Talem’s portfolio of novel antibodies across oncology. It adds to the variety of diverse relationships that the IPA group of companies holds across the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector.
Under the research collaboration, scientists from both companies will work together and contribute their respective resources to discover and develop novel antibodies leveraging the IPA group’s antibody discovery technologies, such as B cell Select™ or Deep Display™ using wild-type and/or transgenic animals, available human libraries, as well as their signature “end-to-end" services. The antibodies developed in the research collaboration against the selected targets will be jointly owned by Talem and Pierre Fabre and, following the completion of each target specific research program, Pierre Fabre will have an option to obtain an exclusive worldwide license to Talem’s interest in those jointly discovered antibodies against that particular target, and Talem would be eligible to receive certain up-front and contingent downstream payments. In addition, if licensed, Pierre Fabre will be responsible for the preclinical and clinical development, as well as the commercialization of the jointly discovered antibodies.
“Less than two years ago we started Talem Therapeutics to provide a unique partnering opportunity for companies to jointly seek the development of promising novel candidates,” stated Dr. Stefan Lang, Chief Business Officer of ImmunoPrecise. “We are very excited to join forces with Pierre Fabre, combining our advanced antibody technologies with their world-class expertise in immuno-oncology is a powerful strategic combination enabling the teams to jointly address life threatening human diseases.”
"Drug discovery in immuno-oncology is a priority for Pierre Fabre. We are therefore very pleased to enter this multi-target research collaboration. Talem will provide us with its expertise and a variety of technology platforms to enable the discovery of therapeutic antibodies, towards a set of structurally diverse targets." added Francesco Hofmann, Head of R&D at Pierre Fabre Medical Care.
