(www.pharmalive.com).- VICTORIA, Australia, Jan. 30, 2006- Zenyth Therapeutics (ASX: ZTL) today announced that it has entered into an antibody library license agreement with Dyax Corporation (Cambridge, MA; Nasdaq: DYAX). Under the agreement Zenyth will use Dyax technology for the discovery and development of new human antibody-based therapies for inflammation and cancer.
The agreement provides Zenyth with access to Dyax phage display libraries of human antibodies. Human antibodies represent an exciting new generation of medicines that are currently being used to successfully treat diseases such as arthritis and breast cancer. Phage display technology is one of the approaches widely employed by leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for the discovery of novel human antibody-based therapeutics.
Dr Andrew Nash, Zenyth’s Chief Executive Officer, said “This agreement with Dyax provides Zenyth with a powerful tool for the discovery of human antibody drugs. We have immediate plans for the application of this technology to both existing and new projects, and we expect to make announcements regarding these new projects very shortly”.
Dr Nash noted that the agreement with Dyax cemented Zenyth’s position as Australia’s leading therapeutic antibody company. “Together with our partners Merck & Co., Inc. and Cambridge Antibody Technology we have two therapeutic antibody programs heading towards clinical studies for asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, respectively. Our in-house team of scientists has had great success with the Medarex UltiMAbÒ human antibody platform, and we expect that the Dyax platform will further enhance our capacity to generate new drug candidates moving forward” said Dr Nash.
About Zenyth
Zenyth Therapeutics Limited is an Australian biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialisation of antibody-based therapies in the areas of inflammation and cancer. Zenyth has strong intellectual property covering targets such as the IL-13 receptor, the GM-CSF receptor and VEGF-B, and together with its partners is developing therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of diseases such as asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Further information about Zenyth and its projects can be found at www.zenyth.com.au
