The News

Ablynx wins european mediscience award for best technology

26/06/2009

GHENT, Belgium, 26 June, 2009 - Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX], a pioneer in the discovery and development of Nanobodies®, a novel class of antibody-derived therapeutic proteins, is pleased to announce it has been awarded ‘Best Technology’ at the 2009 European Mediscience Awards. The European Mediscience Awards recognise innovation and excellence within the quoted biotech and life science sector. Ablynx’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Dr. Edwin Moses collected the award at an event sponsored by Piper Jaffray in London last night.
Best Technology Award – Ablynx’s Nanobodies®
Nanobodies® are a new class of novel therapeutic proteins that are derived from naturally occurring single-chain antibodies. The basis for Nanobody® technology was originally discovered in 1992 at the Free University of Brussels. The invention was based on the observation that Camelidae (the family which includes camels and llamas) are the only mammals which, in addition to conventional antibodies, also possess antibodies that lack light chains but still have the full antigen-binding capacity of conventional antibodies. In these heavy-chain only antibodies, antigen binding occurs through a single variable domain (VHH), which is the smallest functional antibody fragment of a naturally occurring heavy-chain antibody and from which Nanobodies® are derived.

Nanobodies® have a number of important competitive advantages differentiating them from conventional monoclonal antibodies and small molecule drugs, while also combining some of the best features of both. These advantageous characteristics include:
- High affinity: specific binding to one disease target
- Small size: 12-14 kD, 1/10 of the size of a conventional antibody allowing alternative delivery and enhanced tissue penetration
- High stability: resistant to enzymes, various pH’s and high and low temperatures
- Ease of manufacture: cost of goods advantage with microbial manufacturing
- Formatting: bi-specificity allowing more than one disease target or epitope to be blocked with one therapeutic entity
- Broad applicability: applications in a broad range of therapeutic disease areas.

Dr Moses commented: “We are delighted to have won this prestigious award against such strong competition. Since the establishment of Ablynx, we have invested in building a robust technology platform which has, over the last four years, yielded a strong portfolio of over 20 Nanobody®-based therapeutic candidates. There are now three Nanobodies® in the clinic and we are on track to enter the clinic with a fourth Nanobody®, ALX-0141, our anti-RANKL Nanobody®, before the end of this year.” He added: “Ablynx will continue to expand its Nanobody® tool box by continuing to explore alternative routes of administration such as pulmonary delivery as well as raising Nanobodies® against targets not easily tractable for conventional antibodies such as GPCRs.”

About Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX]
Founded in 2001 in Ghent, Belgium, Ablynx is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of Nanobodies®, a novel class of therapeutic proteins based on single-domain antibody fragments, for a range of serious and life-threatening human diseases. The Company currently has over 200 employees. Ablynx completed a successful IPO on Euronext Brussels [ABLX] on 7 November 2007.

Ablynx is developing a portfolio of Nanobody®-based therapeutic programmes in a number of major disease areas, including inflammation, thrombosis, oncology and Alzheimer’s disease. Nanobodies® have been generated against more than 150 different disease targets. Importantly the Nanobodies® which naturally exist in llamas have a very high homology with humans. Efficacy data has been obtained in over 25 in vivo models for Nanobodies® against a range of different targets.

Ablynx has an extensive patent position in the field of Nanobodies® for healthcare applications. It has exclusive and worldwide rights to more than 50 families of granted patents and pending patent applications, including the Hamers patents covering the basic structure, composition, preparation and uses of Nanobodies®.

Ablynx has ongoing research collaborations and significant partnerships with several major pharmaceutical companies, including Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck Serono, Novartis and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Ablynx is building a diverse and broad portfolio of therapeutic Nanobodies® through these collaborations as well as through its own internal discovery programmes. The Company’s lead programme, ALX-0081, an intravenously administered novel anti-thrombotic has reached its primary endpoint in a multi-dose Phase Ib study in patients undergoing PCI and ALX-0681, also an anti-thrombotic but with a subcutaneous route of administration has started Phase I in healthy volunteers. Ablynx has progressed ALX-0141, an anti-RANKL Nanobody® for bone disorders into preclinical development. In addition, Ablynx’s partner Wyeth Pharmaceuticals has initiated a Phase I study in December 2008 for an anti-TNF alpha Nanobody®.

Nanobody® is a registered trademark of Ablynx NV.

For more information, please contact:

For international media enquiries: College Hill Life Sciences  Ablynx:
Sue Charles, Justine Lamond,
Dr. John McIntyre
t:   +44 (0)20 7866 7857
e:  ablynx@collegehill.com
 Dr. Edwin Moses
Chairman and CEO
t:   +32 (0)9 262 00 07
m: +44 (0)7771 954 193 /
     +32 (0)473 39 50 68
e:  edwin.moses@ablynx.com
Eva-Lotta Allan
Chief Business Officer
t:   +32 (0)9 262 00 75
m: +32 (0)475 78 36 21 /
     +44 (0)7990 570 900
e:  eva-lotta.allan@ablynx.com

 

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