Adimab, Celgene form drug discovery partnership

Adimab signed a multi-target discovery agreement with Celgene Corporation, pursuant to which, Adimab will use its proprietary discovery and optimization platform to generate fully human antibodies against multiple targets.

Under the terms of the agreement, Adimab will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and Celgene will have the right to develop and market all therapeutic antibodies resulting from the partnership.

Adimab business development vice president Guy Meter said the speed and technical superiority of Adimab’s platform drives all of the deal flow.

“The Adimab Platform is an extremely versatile antibody discovery and engineering tool that can be applied to a variety of different therapeutic development approaches, including IgG discovery, optimization, humanization and bispecifics,” Van Meter added.

For each target, the agreement grants Celgene the right to research antibodies generated during the collaboration for potential use as therapeutic products.

Celgene will also have the choice to exclusively license antibodies generated during the collaboration for each target.

Adimab would be eligible for license fees, clinical milestones and royalties on therapeutic product sales if Celgene exercises its option for a particular target.

Previously, Adimab formed partnerships with pharmaceutical companies such as Merck, Roche, Novartis, Eli Lilly, Genentech, Biogen Idec, Novo Nordisk, Gilead, Kyowa Hakko Kirin and GSK.