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Source: Morphotek, Inc.
Contact: Nicholas C. Nicolaides Morphotek, Inc. 610-423-6100 info@morphotek.com
Judee Shuler Eisai Corporation of North America 201-746-2241 judee_shuler@eisai.com
Bryan Evans Reverb—DBC 215-957-0300 bevans@dbcommunications.net
MORPHOTEK® ANNOUNCES Collaboration to facilitate development of human monoclonal antibodies for the treatment or prophylaxis of infectious disease
Exton, PA, May 21, 2008 – Morphotek®, Inc., a subsidiary of Eisai Corporation of North America, announced today that it has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health, for the development of human monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of infectious disease. Morphotek will apply its LIBRADOMATM technology to isolate and initially characterize candidate antibodies and NIAID will further characterize the antibodies to identify candidates potentially useful in treating and preventing certain infectious diseases.
Morphotek’s LIBRADOMA technology generates libraries of hybridomas that can be rapidly screened to identify monoclonal antibodies against disease-associated antigens. “Morphotek is pleased to collaborate with NIAID on this important project,” said Nicholas Nicolaides, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Morphotek. “We remain committed to advancing candidates for clinical development in this therapeutic area, which if promising, may one day become available to patients with infectious disease.”
About Morphotek
Morphotek, Inc., a subsidiary of Eisai Corporation of North America, is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of protein and antibody products through the use of a novel and proprietary gene evolution technology. The technology has been successfully applied to a broad variety of cell lines and organisms to yield genetically diverse offspring that are suitable for pharmaceutical product development in the areas of antibody therapeutics, protein therapeutics, product manufacturing, drug target discovery, and improved output traits for commercial applications. The company is currently focusing its platform on the development and manufacturing of therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of cancer, inflammation and infectious disease. For more information, please visit www.morphotek.com.
About Eisai Corporation of North America
Eisai Corporation of North America is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eisai Co., Ltd. and supports the activities of its operating companies in North America. These operating companies include: Eisai Research Institute of Boston, Inc., a discovery operation with strong organic chemistry capabilities; Morphotek, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies; Eisai Medical Research Inc., a clinical development group; Eisai Inc., a commercial operation with manufacturing and marketing/sales functions; MGI PHARMA, INC., an R&D and commercial operation with manufacturing and marketing/sales functions; and Eisai Machinery U.S.A., which markets and maintains pharmaceutical manufacturing machinery.
About Eisai Co., Ltd.
Eisai Co., Ltd. is a research-based human health care (hhc) company that discovers, develops and markets products throughout the world. Eisai focuses its efforts in three areas of therapeutic focus: Integrative neuroscience including neurology and psychiatric medicines; gastrointestinal disorders; and integrative oncology including oncotherapy and supportive-care treatments. Through a global network of research facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, Eisai actively participates in all aspects of the worldwide health care system. For more information, please visit www.eisai.co.jp.