BioInvent develops and manufactures antibody-based drugs and research tools.
The Swedish company's technology platform covers substantial parts of the development chain; from library technology (n-CoDeR) for fast and efficient selection of human antibodies to manufacture in a facility that is approved for cGMP manufacturing biological drugs.
The technology platform is used in development partnerships with international pharmaceutical and biotech companies. BioInvent has already entered into agreements with, among others, Antisoma (GB), GlaxoSmithKline (GB), Igeneon (AU), ImmunoGen (US), Novo Nordisk (DK), Oxford GlycoSciences (GB) and Pharmacia (SE).
The next step will be to establish a portfolio of proprietary product candidates.
Exemplifying this strategy, BioInvent recently acquired the rights to develop antibody-based therapy against a target structure associated with the HIV-1 virus.
The target is Tat, a protein produced by the HIV virus. Tat is essential for HIV-1 infectivitiy and maintenance of chronic HIV-1 viremia.
BioInvent will develop therapeutic antibodies against highly conserved epitopes of the viral protein.
Because it is secreted from cell into serum, Tat's DNA is separated from its function. Thus, the development of resistant viral strains are unlikely.
Antibody treatment of HIV focusing on tat represents a novel strategy of HIV therapy. Present treatment is associated with compliance problems, major side effects, and rapidly evolving resistance problems.
The development of BioInvent's anti-Tat antibody therapy represents a significant potential improvement in all these respects.
BioInvent Production AB is based in Lund, Sweden. www.bioinvent.com
