Benzinga | May 6, 2021 09:16AM EDT

AbCellera Partners And Angios To Develop Therapeutics To Combat Blindness Caused By Diabetic Retinopathy

Three-target, multi-year collaboration includes the development of bispecific antibodies to treat sight-threatening complication of type 1 and 2 diabetes

AbCellera (NASDAQ:ABCL) and Angios GmbH (Angios) announced today that they have entered into a multi-year, multi-target collaboration to facilitate the discovery of monoclonal and bispecific antibodies for vascular diseases of the eye. AbCellera will use its full stack, AI-powered antibody discovery platform to generate panels of antibodies for up to three Angios-selected targets to address diabetic retinopathy.

"Through this collaboration, Angios can focus on advancing their unique scientific insights for treating blindness in diabetes, rather than on establishing and scaling internal antibody discovery capabilities," said Carl Hansen, Ph.D., CEO and President of AbCellera. "We are excited to work closely with Angios to start their programs without delay, including identifying bispecific antibodies against diabetic retinopathy, and moving them forward at maximum speed."

Diabetic retinopathy, which is a complication of type 1 and 2 diabetes, is caused by chronic hyperglycemia and is the leading cause of preventable visual impairment and blindness in working-age adults. Patients with diabetes who have an increased risk of developing retinopathy include those with comorbid hypertension and dyslipidemia.1,2

"As a young biotech, we have to use our resources efficiently to maximize the development of novel therapeutics for growing numbers of patients affected by this life-altering disease," said Gregor Wick, Ph.D., CEO of Angios. "Our partnership with AbCellera will greatly improve our ability to realize our ambitious goals to accelerate therapeutic development so patients can get meaningful new therapies as soon as possible."

"There are 400 million patients with diabetes, and the numbers are rapidly growing," said Josef Penninger, Ph.D., Chairman of Angios. "Changes in blood vessels are the major cause for diabetic symptoms such as kidney failure, heart attacks, non-healing wounds, and also blindness. There is an enormous unmet medical need to develop novel therapies for these patients."

Under the terms of the agreement, Angios will have the rights to develop and commercialize therapeutic products resulting from the collaboration. AbCellera will receive equity and research fees and is eligible for milestone payments and royalties based on the development and commercialization of antibodies generated by AbCellera under this collaboration.