www.asiabiotech.com Industry Watch Australia EvoGenix and CSL Partner on Antibodies ntibody therapeutics company, EvoGenix Ltd, had entered a Technology Collaboration agreement with CSL Ltd. EvoGenix will apply its proprietary Atechnologies to antibody products selected by CSL from its pipeline. The collaboration is designed to generate superior antibodies that are more effective as human therapeutics. CSL will have the right to commercialize the products. EvoGenix will receive royalty payments as therapeutics emerging from the collaboration reach the market. Under the terms of the agreement, EvoGenix will receive research payments to carry out work on CSL’s products. Each project carries a success payment for the achievement of project goals, as well as milestone payments as the product advances through the subsequent stages of clinical testing and regulatory approvals. The agreement marks the growing interest of Australian healthcare companies in the dynamic antibody sector, which is seen as the source of many of the future blockbuster drugs. Dr Andrew Cuthbertson, CSL’s Chief Scientific Officer commented, “CSL has identified antibody therapeutics as a focus of its expanding product pipeline. We are delighted to access key technologies which can accelerate development of our antibodies as effective treatments through this collaboration with EvoGenix. “ Dr Rob Crombie, VP for Business Development with EvoGenix, noted “We are looking forward to a highly productive relationship in developing these projects with CSL. As Australia’s leading healthcare company, and with their track record of success in taking biopharmaceuticals to the market, CSL is ideally placed to accelerate antibodies emerging from the collaboration through to becoming successful products.” This is the second major collaboration EvoGenix has made to exploit its proprietary antibody development technologies. The first was signed with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline late last year. EvoGenix expects to utilize its proprietary technologies in additional selected relationships over the next few years. 592 APBN • Vol. 10 • No. 11 • 2006 www.asiabiotech.com Industry Watch About EvoGenix EvoGenix Ltd has established leading technology capabilities for creating high value antibody therapeutics. The company exploits its capabilities through technology collaborations with partner companies, It also develops in-house wholly-owned antibody products. The EvoGenix technology converts a research-stage antibody, which is often produced in mice, into a high potency therapeutic suitable for long term administration to patients. This is a key value-creating step in antibody development. EvoGenix is progressively building company value by assembling a portfolio of short and longer term revenues resulting from products successfully generated in technology collaborations. At the same time, it is progressing its internal product pipeline with current products aimed at the treatment of osteoporosis, lung cancer, melanoma and respiratory infections. These will be out-licensed prior to the clinical stage to meet the existing high demand for new antibody products in the pharmaceutical industry. About CSL CSL Ltd is a global specialty biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets products to treat and prevent serious human medical conditions. CSL has substantial manufacturing facilities in Europe, the USA and Australia. The CSL Group operates globally through its Human Health businesses. CSL’s Human Health business includes the operations of ZLB Behring, CSL Bioplasma and CSL Pharmaceutical, as well as our global new product development activities. Contact Details: CSL Ltd Address: 45, Poplar Rd, 3052, Victoria, Australia URL: www.csl.com.au Evogenix Ltd Contact Person: Dr Merilyn Sleigh, CEO Address: Level 2, 37 Bligh Street Sydney NSW 2000 Tel: +61 2 8257 3393 Fax: +61 2 8257 3399 Emai: [email protected] URL: www.evogenix.com APBN • Vol. 10 • No. 11 • 2006 593 www.asiabiotech.com Industry Watch Australia Minomic’s Business inomic is a global leader in biomarker identification. The company’s focus is on developing biomarkers exhibited in early and well established disease states. MIn pathology and disease, proteins in the body tissue are modified and secreted in the body fluids. Minomic has the full complement of state-of-the art procedures to allow them to develop highly predictive screening kits based on these biomarkers in body fluids such as blood, urine and tears. Minomic’s expertise in proteomic analysis of tears and urine and small sample volumes positions them at the forefront of non-invasive diagnostic technology. There are several benefits of biomarker tests over traditional tests. These benefits include: • Used with high degree of accuracy at very early stages of disease. • Used to measure disease progression or remission during treatment. • Used to understand pharmacotherapy efficacy, toxicity and theranostic assaying. • Rapid test, used non-invasively, on small volumes of sample and in the hands of general practitioners or nurses. Minomic’s Background Minomic started in April 2002 with a turnover of approximately A$ 30,000 (US$22,000) and currently,its turnsover is A$ 1 million (US$0.74 million). The changes in its performance have arisen from the fact that the company successfully markets its products and services in Australia and Asia Pacific. It market its products to both broad based industry and to pharmaceutical and biotechnology businesses. Dr Brad Walsh founded the company with financial and in-kind assistance from four other founders. Two key technology partners, Waters Corp and Perkin Elmer Life and Analytical Sciences (both US listed companies) provided financial help and supplied equipment to establish the laboratory and technology platform. These partners believed in the vision of Minomic’s founders and remain partners. The company’s core business has been protein biomarker discovery from the outset with an initial focus on diabetes type 2 and its complications. Another academic partner is Professor Mark Willcox from the Institute of Eye Research. Awards Minomic recognises the advantages of maintaining a profile in the marketplace. For a relatively young company, Minomic has already been the recipient of a number of prestigious awards including awards from Business Review Weekly and Frost & Sullivan. 594 APBN • Vol. 10 • No. 11 • 2006 www.asiabiotech.com Industry Watch 2003: Appointed the PerkinElmer Asia Pacific Center for Excellence in Proteomics 2004: Admitted to the Australian Technology Showcase 2005: Winner of “2005 Best Investment Pitch” for the On-the-Spot Investment Competition 2005: Finalist 2005 BioFirst Commercialization Award 2005: Frost & Sullivan Entrepreneurial Company Award 2006: BRW Upstarts 2006 Awardee Minomic’s Market The global market for diagnostics is large with molecular diagnostics making up 3% market share. Molecular diagnostics was approximately US$3.1 billion in 2000 and is expected to be worth US$8.5 billion in 2008 and US$12billion in 2010. This growth is driven by the availability of new diagnostic methodology, the aging population, the explosion of the middle class and improved health care in countries such as India and China. Minomic, with its ability to identify and test reliably for biomarkers of diseases such as cancer and diabetes, is a company that is in a niche and growing market with few rivals. Its technology has major opportunities for rapid product range extension in diseases where traditional tests are limited or inadequate. Minomic currently has three core research and operational areas. These are; • Non-invasive diagnostic test using urine for Type 2 diabetes. • Non-invasive diagnostic test using urine for prostate cancer. • Partnering with biotechnology companies with specific biomarkers for clinical trials in pharmacotherapy, safety and efficacy. Minomic believes that the potential sales for the Minomic diabetes diagnostic product is US$15 million per annum and the potential sales for Minomic Prostrate Cancer diagnostic product is US$12 million per annum. With current estimates for successful drug development hovering in the US$900- million to US$1.7 billion range, the implications of finding relevant markers to predict toxicity, efficacy, and treatment outcomes are profound. Identifying such markers facilitates earlier go/no-go decisions in drug development. By understanding who is likely to respond to which drug, biomarkers can change the risk/benefit ratio for patients in clinical trials by enriching the population of patients who will benefit, as well as reducing the likelihood of adverse events. With smaller enrolments, faster trials, and higher success rates, companies can expect a greater market share for successful drugs, and physicians will have clearer guidance on better drug choices for their patients. Minomic’s Technology Minomic has two business streams: i) Contract research division in the development of customized diagnostic tests for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies . ii) The development of diagnostics kits (Type 2 Diabetes and Prostate Cancer). At the core of these two business streams are the skills and expertise around a platform APBN • Vol. 10 • No. 11 • 2006 595 www.asiabiotech.com Industry Watch of proteomics technology. No other biomarker discovery company has such a range of capabilities and resources. The company’s MiNavigator technology platform allows them to remove many of the significant bottlenecks that have slowed the expansion of proteomics.