Samsung Biologics announced on Tuesday that it signed a contract with Aprinoia Therapeutics to develop the Taiwan-based biotech firm’s Alzheimer’s disease treatment.
Aprinoia Therapeutics specializes in diagnostic devices and treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. The bioventure is a pioneer and leader in the development of monoclonal antibodies against the tau protein.
The South Korean biotech firm aims to expand its presence in Taiwan and China with the newly forged partnership. Samsung’s affiliate signed a contract development organization (CDO) deal with Aprinoia Therapeutics to jointly develop an anti-tau monoclonal antibody drug candidate, designed to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
The tau protein binds and stabilizes the brain cells’ internal structures. For Alzheimer’s patients, however, those tau proteins instead tend to stick to each other, disrupting the healthy brain system.
Samsung Biologics through a statement said that the partnership with Aprinoia covers the full scope of the candidate product’s development phase from cell line development, process development, current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) manufacturing to an investigational new drug (IND) filing support.
Through the CDO, Samsung Biologics would manufacture a clinical sample of the Taiwanese company’s Alzheimer’s treatment pipeline. It would also aid in its application for clinical tests as investigational novel drug.
Kim Tae-han, Samsung Biologics CEO, expressed their excitement over the opportunity to partner with a biotech company with a distinguished global presence amidst the fast-growing bio landscape in Asia. The Korean company looks forward to demonstrating its unique capabilities, scale, and integrated CDO and leading contract manufacturing organization (CMO) services to their valued clients, he added.
CDO
The CDO would help Samsung biologics to effectively boost its portfolio covering mainland China as well as Taiwan. The Samsung affiliate is already in talks with around 20 Chinese biotech companies for additional business agreements.
Samsung Biologics recently injected more resources to promote its CDO business. The company expects the business to grow 15 percent annually over the following years.
Established in 2011, the biotech firm has grown into one of the leading contract-based drugs making companies. It has since carried out 48 CDO projects, which helps venture companies in the biotechnology sector conduct drug development.
