Junshi licenses COVID-19 antibody tech from Lonza
China’s Junshi Biosciences has licensed technology to produce an antibody against COVID-19 from Swiss biotechnology firm Lonza.
The companies revealed yesterday, July 13 that an antibody had entered into phase 1 clinical trials in China.
The antibody was developed using Lonza’s GS Xceed gene expression system, which the Swiss company describes as an “integrated, scalable system [that] can express a diverse range of biologic drugs”.
Junshi is also working with Eli Lilly to develop the antibody candidate, known as JS016, worldwide, with Junshi spearheading its development and commercialisation in China.
“With dozens of commercial products launched using the GS Xceed Gene Expression System, the first clinical trial of a neutralising antibody for COVID-19 in China using our technology is a key milestone for Lonza,” said Jean-Christophe Hyvert, chief commercial officer.
In addition to its antibody partnership with Junshi, Lonza has also agreed to collaborate with Moderna to produce up to a billion doses of the US company’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted major patent and vaccine licensing deals, as concerns grow over equitable access to technologies that could help fight the virus.
Gilead has agreed to license rights to its antiviral remdesivir, one of the earliest drugs approved to treat the virus, in more than 100 low and middle-income countries.
The deal will see five generics makers granted a licence to manufacture the drug. The company had been under pressure to waive its patent rights in order to ensure fair access.
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