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By Catherine Hollingsworth

In its first major deal, Danish biotech Symphogen AS agreed to a $330 million collaboration with Genentech Inc. to discover and develop antibody therapeutics against three undisclosed infectious disease targets.

Under the deal, South San Francisco-based Genentech will make an undisclosed up-front payment to Symphogen, as well as an equity investment in the Copenhagen, Denmark-based company. That money will go toward Symphogen's internal pipeline of seven projects, including a lead antibody in Phase II development, Symphogen CEO Kirsten Drejer told BioWorld Today.

As part of the deal, Symphogen is eligible to receive milestone payments for certain research and development milestones, as well as royalties on any products developed and commercialized by Genentech as a result of the collaboration. Genentech will obtain an exclusive worldwide license to candidates developed and will fund associated research and development costs.

Genentech had signaled earlier this year that it would seek to add infectious disease and neuroscience to its other key research areas of oncology, immunology and tissue growth and regeneration, company spokeswoman Kelli Wilder said. Symphogen's Symplex technology, she said, identifies novel infectious disease candidates and complements Genentech's internal technology platform for monoclonal antibodies.

Prior to the deal with Genentech, Symphogen also had established collaborations with Biovitrum AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, and Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd., of Tokyo. While Symphogen is pleased with its previous deals, the Genentech deal marks its biggest yet in terms of the size of the partner company and the potential value of the agreement, Drejer said.

Symphogen is developing recombinant polyclonal antibodies (rpAb) that mimic the way the body naturally combats disease by producing many different antibodies. The aim is to develop antibodies that work as effective as a healthy immune system, Drejer said.

The company's technology allows it to create both polyclonal as well as monoclonal antibodies. Its Symplex technology provides a fast way to clone high-quality antibodies, while its Sympress technology can provide consistency from batch to batch when more than one antibody is added to a product, Drejer said. The traditional method of combining antibodies requires separate manufacturing of each antibody before they can be combined, she explained.

Symphogen derives it antibodies from the blood of individuals who have survived or recovered from infections, and have been shown to have antibodies that are effective against the target.

Blood samples from three to five, or as many as 10, individuals typically are required for this process, which Drejer described as "not that laborious."

She noted that Symphogen has "ample other targets" that could be of interest to pharmaceutical companies, and that the company is "open to other deals for other targets."

Symphogen's other projects include an antibody mixture for smallpox, a follow-on product to MedImmune's Synergis for respiratory syncytial virus, and an oncology product, all of which are in preclinical development. In addition, the company has discovery projects partnered with Meiji Seika Kaisha for an antibacterial-related target.

Published June 11, 2008

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