13 July 2018 - - Wuxi, China-based biologics technology platform company WuXi Biologics (2269.HK) and Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey-based immunotherapeutics developer Immune Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IMNP) have formed a development and manufacturing agreement for the production of bertilimumab, Immune's first-in-class anti-eotaxin-1 monoclonal antibody, the companies said.
Bertilimumab is designed to block the protein eotaxin-1, which is responsible for causing inflammation in a significant number of diseases. Immune Pharma recently completed a phase 2a trial of bertilimumab in patients with moderate-to-extensive bullous pemphigoid (BP) continues to enroll subjects in an ongoing phase 2 trial in ulcerative colitis.
WuXi Biologics will scale the new bertilimumab manufacturing process to 2,000 liters, which can support the planned clinical development program and potential future commercial needs. WuXi Biologics will also serve as the fill/finish manufacturer for bertilimumab.
Immune Pharmaceuticals develops novel immunotherapeutic agents. Its lead product candidate, bertilimumab, is being development for bullous pemphigoid and ulcerative colitis. The company's pipeline also includes products for the treatment of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis and products for the treatment of neuropathic pain.
WuXi Biologics, a Hong Kong-listed company, is an open-access biologics technology platform offering end-to-end solutions to empower organisations to discover, develop and manufacture biologics from concept to commercial manufacturing.