CEVEC and CSL sign exclusive license agreement

Germany firm CEVEC Pharmaceuticals and Australian biotechnology leader CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) have entered into an exclusive licensing agreement for the development, manufacture and commercialization of recombinant C1 esterase Inhibitor (C1-INH) proteins for hereditary angioedema (HAE) and other potential indications using CEVEC's proprietary CAPGo technology.

Under the terms of the deal, CEVEC grants an exclusive license for the development, manufacture and commercialization of CAPGo-derived C1-INH proteins to CSL. In addition, CEVEC will provide its expertise in the development and use of CAPGo cell lines expressing C1-INH, and in optimizing the expression of highly glycosylated and difficult to produce proteins. The licensing agreement was the result of an ongoing collaboration between CSL and CEVEC, which yielded initial data on the significant potential of the CAPGo technology to enable the development of a differentiated recombinant C1-INH product candidate. Financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed.

"The agreement with CSL is a further endorsement of our unique human expression system with the intention to take our CAPGo technology to the next level of implementation for the production of difficult to express recombinant proteins," said Dr Nico Scheer, CEVEC’s chief business officer, adding: “Its outstanding characteristics in terms of authentic and tailor-made glycosylation capabilities, high yield production of complex proteins and scalability, combined with its IP protection and the complete documentation of the CAPcells make the CAPGo technology the ideal choice for industrial scale production of glyco-optimized proteins. We are looking forward to supporting CSL with this exciting project."