Selexis SA and NKT Therapeutics sign research services agreement

Sep 2 2009

Selexis SA ("Selexis") and NKT Therapeutics, Inc. ("NKTT") announce today that they have entered into a research services agreement whereby Selexis will screen antibody variants and generate high performance CHO-based production cell lines using their novel platform named INTEGRA-D2M(TM). The Selexis INTEGRA-D2M(TM) platform enables the rapid isolation of production cell lines concomitant with the selection of lead compounds from libraries of protein variants expressed in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells. Utilizing INTEGRA-D2M(TM), protein variant libraries of sizes larger than 10exp3 can be screened to identify lead compounds in less than 9 weeks. The selected CHO-based protein variant expressing clone can then be used directly for cGMP manufacturing.

"We are excited about the partnership with NKTT, who are recognized as leaders in the biology and therapeutic applications for modulating Natural Killer T cells," said Dr. Igor Fisch, CEO and co-founder of Selexis SA. "Our novel and powerful INTEGRA-D2M(TM) platform, is able to support NKTT in rapidly making their final product decision while we also develop and deliver a high-performance production cell line ready for cGMP manufacturing."

"We greatly appreciate working with the team at Selexis and utilizing their powerful technology platform," adds Dr. Alem Truneh, Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of NKT Therapeutics.