PolyTherics, a biopharmaceutical spin-out company from Imperial College London and the London School of Pharmacy has signed a manufacturing and bilateral representation agreement with BioVectra
A Canadian biopharmaceutical company, BioVectra, supplies specialty chemicals and contract manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.
The agreement, which follows hard on the heels of PolyTherics' recent successful fundraising of over GBP2 million, will see BioVectra manufacturing high quality cGMP MPEG reagents to support clients' clinical development of PolyTherics' novel PEGylation technology.
BioVectra will also market the PEGylation technology to its client base in North America.
PolyTherics has developed patent-protected proprietary technologies and expertise in the modification of drugs to improve their performance.
The company's innovative PEGylation technology, known as TheraPEG, can extend the half-life of novel and existing protein drugs.
The TheraPEG approach produces an improvement in biological activity and a higher yield than the existing PEGylation technologies.
This means that drugs, such as Interferon, stay active in the body for longer, enabling longer periods between doses.
Patients can therefore be treated less often, with fewer side-effects and at lower cost.
The market for traditional PEGylation has expanded considerably and PolyTherics' TheraPEG technology is positioned both to address existing markets and open new markets, particularly in the antibody field.
PolyTherics already has revenue-generating development contracts in place with several companies and is in discussion with a number of other parties.
Dr Keith Powell, chief executive officer of PolyTherics, said: "We are delighted to have signed this agreement with BioVectra, who offer access to specialist custom polymer chemistry capabilities, a patented MPEG purification process and scaled manufacturing systems - the key components that are needed to support clients of our TheraPEG technology.
"We are currently in discussion with a number of biogeneric and pharmaceutical companies in Europe and the USA and there is significant interest in downstream applications for our TheraPEG technology.
"This agreement with BioVectra means that we can work with a highly competent manufacturer who will supply the highest quality MPEGs to meet our clients' needs and comply with FDA standards.
"So we now have the tools to take our TheraPEG technology from the laboratory into the feasibility testing and manufacturing stages".
Stephen Ball, business development representative for BioVectra, said: "We are pleased to be working with PolyTherics to support the development of their innovative and important site specific TheraPEG technology.
"We look forward to deploying our capabilities in the manufacturing of high quality cGMP MPEG reagents to assist PolyTherics' clients through clinical development of therapeutic proteins into post approval commercialisation".
Dale Zajicek, chief operating officer of BioVectra, said: "We remain committed to supporting our PEGs business initiatives with technology that creates true value for our customers and their patients.
"The PolyTherics agreement is a clear example of this commitment."
