Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharmaceuticals, a global leader in the field of biopharmaceuticals manufacturing, and Apexigen, an emerging biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of best-in-class therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, announced the signing of a manufacturing supply agreement.
As part of the agreement Boehringer Ingelheim will provide cell line development with the high expression BI-HEX® system, full process and method development, scale-up and clinical phase I supply including fill & finish development for APX005, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting CD40 for the treatment of cancers. APX005 is a strong CD40 agonist that has exhibited potent anti-tumor activities in preclinical studies.
"We are very pleased to partner with Apexigen in the manufacture of one of their pipeline antibodies," said Simon Sturge, Boehringer Ingelheim's Senior Vice President Biopharmaceuticals. "In particular, this is an exciting project for Boehringer Ingelheim. We are confident that our cutting edge production process technologies will advance Apexigen's robust clinical program."
"We are delighted to collaborate with Boehringer Ingelheim for the production of APX005," said Dr. Xiaodong Yang, President & CEO of Apexigen. "We look forward to working closely with them to insure the success of this key member of our product pipeline."
About Boehringer Ingelheim
The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 145 affiliates and more than 44,000 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel medications of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine. In 2011, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of about 13.2 billion Euro.
Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharma Contract Manufacturing is now represented by its new brand Boehringer Ingelheim BioXcellence™. As a leading biopharmaceutical contract manufacturer with more than 35 years of experience - the company has brought 19 biopharmaceutical products to market. Boehringer Ingelheim BioXcellence™ offers tailor-made contract development and manufacturing services to the biopharmaceutical industry, providing the entire production technology chain from DNA to fill and finish under one roof at its facilities in Biberach (Germany), Vienna (Austria) and Fremont (USA).
Boehringer Ingelheim BioXcellence™ can secure product supply throughout the entire product lifecycle - transferring customer projects at any stage, delivering to almost any scale and thereby makes outsourcing easy.
About Apexigen, Inc.
Apexigen is a biopharmaceutical product development company advancing a pipeline of novel product candidates with the potential to address life-threatening and difficult to treat diseases. The company's proprietary technology platform enables the discovery and development of superior antibody product candidates that are able to impact previously inaccessible disease targets.
Apexigen is actively developing products, either by itself or in collaboration with partners. The company's product portfolio includes humanized antibodies targeting cancer, inflammatory diseases and ophthalmic disease.
Collaboration is an important aspect of Apexigen's business model. At present, seven corporate collaborations are in place, representing both product development collaborations and antibody technology collaborations. Through the building of successful collaborations, Apexigen is able to develop a broad base of antibody products and promote wider use of its antibody technology platform.