Lonza has received a contract from Intellect Neurosciences to develop and manufacture the antibody drug conjugate, Conjumab-A.
Under the contract, Lonza will supply the preclinical study material for the drug optimization and drug selection for Intellect's Conjumab-A, aiming on age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with potential applications for Alzheimer's disease.
The program is also expected to have in vitro and in vivo studies to evaluate both therapeutic and prophylactic potential in AMD testing different chemical variants manufactured by Lonza.
Intellect Neurosciences chairman and CEO Daniel Chain said Conjumab-A is a first-in-class drug compound intended to address an important unmet need in AMD, which is the cause of blindness in people over the age of 55.
''The selection of Lonza as our manufacturer, just under a year since we introduced the platform, represents an important next step in the evolution of Intellect Neurosciences, and we are very proud to be working with such a high caliber team at Lonza," Chain added.
Lonza chemical manufacturing head Stefan Stoffel said, "We have already generated a detailed road map for the optimization and manufacture of CONJUMAB-A, and are excited to be associated with this entirely novel and promising application for antibody-drug conjugates."
