AbCellera and Rallybio Partner on Novel Antibody-Based Therapeutics

AbCellera and Rallybio, a US-based clinical-stage biotechnology company, have entered into a strategic alliance to discover, develop, and commercialize novel antibody-based therapeutics targeting rare diseases. The partnership is a multi-year, multi-target collaboration that will combine AbCellera’s antibody discovery engine with Rallybio’s clinical and commercial expertise in rare diseases. Together, the companies plan to identify optimal clinical candidates and ultimately deliver therapies to patients, according to a Dec. 1, 2022 company press release.

Under the agreement, AbCellera and Rallybio will co-develop up to five rare disease therapeutic targets chosen together by both companies. The collaboration will also allow Rallybio to add product candidates to its existing pipeline. Meanwhile, AbCellera will have the option to conduct process development and clinical manufacturing activities. The first program out of the collaboration will focus on addressing the significant unmet therapeutic needs of patients with rare metabolic diseases.

“It’s clear that we need to accelerate drug development for rare diseases to address the enormous unmet medical need for these patients,” said Carl Hansen, founder and CEO of AbCellera, in the release. “Rallybio’s team has decades of experience in sourcing, identifying, and evaluating therapeutic targets. By bringing together Rallybio’s deep expertise in rare diseases with AbCellera’s integrated technology for delivering clinical leads … this partnership creates a unique advantage that we believe will deliver new and transformative medicines to patients.”

“AbCellera’s clinically validated discovery engine will strengthen our efforts in identifying novel rare disease candidates to add to our existing pipeline,” said Martin Mackay, CEO, Rallybio, in the release. “We are excited to establish this partnership and look forward to working closely with our colleagues at AbCellera as we build novel medicines together.”

Source: AbCellera