Pfizer enters option accord with Tetragenetics and collaborates with CHOP

Emerging US biotech firm Tetragenetics, which is engaged in the development of particle-based vaccines and expression of ion channel drug targets, has entered into a collaboration agreement with an option for an exclusive license with Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), the world’s largest drugmaker by sales. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Ted Clark, founder and chief scientific officer of Tetragenetics, commented: “Having large biopharmaceutical partners recognize the potential value of our technology to solve well-known protein expression problems for commercially relevant targets is important recognition of our pioneering science. Given the large number of ion channel genes encoded by these cells, their rapid generation time, and absence of a cell wall, our Tetrahymena system is superior for high-level expression and surface display of these challenging membrane protein targets particularly when compared with the more standard cell lines upon which biotech and big pharma traditionally rely.”

“This is our first agreement with a major pharmaceutical company utilizing SionX, a new application of our discovery platform,” said John Reilly, vice president business development, adding: “Antibodies specific to extracellular domains on cell surface targets are the fastest growing class of therapeutic molecules. We are now well-positioned to license our SionX technology to other companies on a target by target basis.”