SOBI and Affibody in licensing deal on IL-1 inflammatory diseases treatments

Rare disease specialist Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (STO: SOBI) has signed a licensing agreement with biotech company Affibody AB for the development of novel treatments for inflammatory diseases where interleukin-1 (IL-1) is involved.

In 2012, Sobi entered a research collaboration with fellow Swedish firm Affibody, with an option to enter into exclusive licensing arrangements within IL-1. The research, which has been based on Affibody's proprietary technology, focuses on key proteins involved in the regulation of human immune and inflammatory processes.

Stephen James, head of drug design and development at Sobi, said: “We are excited by the opportunities that this research collaboration offers. The continued expansion of our early stage pipeline is one of our main objectives this year and this will further strengthen our presence in the inflammation field and may provide additional opportunities to address the unmet medical needs in auto-inflammatory diseases.”