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For MacroGenics
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For Immediate Release
April 26, 2004
HORSHAM, Pa. , and ROCKVILLE , Md. , April 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Neose Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTEC) and MacroGenics Inc. announced today that the companies have entered into a research collaboration and license agreement on multiple monoclonal antibodies. Neose will apply its GlycoAdvance and GlycoPEGylation technologies to MacroGenics compounds with the goal of improving the therapeutic properties of these proteins.
MacroGenics has the right to take a limited number of remodeled compounds into development. Following the initial research phase, MacroGenics will be responsible for funding the further development of these licensed compounds under an exclusive license from Neose. In exchange, Neose will be entitled to receive various option fee, milestone, and royalty payments as products are developed and commercialized under the agreement.
"We are impressed with MacroGenics' expertise in the antibody field and look forward to working with them. They have important new technology for the development and modification of monoclonal antibodies, particularly in the Fc region, and we believe that combining our technologies may yield more effective new treatments for chronic diseases," said C. Boyd Clarke, Neose president, chief executive officer and chairman.
"We are excited by the potential therapeutic improvements that can be made to our monoclonal antibodies utilizing Neose's GlycoAdvance and GlycoPEGylation technologies," said Scott Koenig, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of MacroGenics.
Neose is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the improvement of protein therapeutics through the application of its proprietary technologies. By applying its GlycoAdvance and GlycoPEGylation technologies, Neose is developing proprietary protein drugs that are improved versions of currently marketed therapeutics with proven efficacy. These second generation proteins are expected to offer significant advantages, such as less frequent dosing and improved safety and efficacy. In addition to developing its own products or co-developing products with others, Neose is entering into strategic partnerships for the inclusion of its technologies into products being developed by other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
MacroGenics is a privately funded company focused on the development, manufacture and commercialization of biotechnology products including immunotherapeutics for cancer, infectious diseases, and autoimmune disorders. MacroGenics' core platform involves antibody receptor-related technologies which are employed to improve the ways cytotoxic antibodies mediate cell killing for the treatment of cancers and to prevent autoantibodies from triggering disease in autoimmunity.