Dyadic, Serum Institute of India Collaborate on Affordable and Accessible Antibodies

Global biotechnology company, Dyadic International, has announced its research and commercialization collaboration agreement with Serum Institute of India for the development and manufacture of up to 12 antibodies and vaccines using Dyadic’s C1 gene expression system.

The collaboration is aimed at making biologic drugs and vaccines more affordable and accessible for patients, in addition to reduce the financial burden on global healthcare systems. As per the terms of the arrangement, Serum will apply Dyadic’s C1 technology to express up to 12 proteins, comprising of eight monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and four recombinant vaccines. Once these proteins are expressed, Serum will take measures to fully develop and commercialize the products.

Under the terms of the agreement, Dyadic has agreed to grant Serum the option to obtain an exclusive commercial sublicense for each of the proteins expressed from its C1 technology. In return for these sublicenses, Dyadic will receive certain research funding, milestone payments, and royalties for 15 years from the date of the first commercial sale.

“We are very excited to collaborate with Serum as our philosophies are directly aligned. Our goal is to offer our C1 gene expression platform to biotech and pharmaceutical companies as well as renowned institutes and governmental agencies that are committed to reducing the cost of healthcare and saving lives,” said Mark Emalfarb, Dyadic's CEO.

“Serum has a proven track record of more than 50 years of developing and delivering affordable vaccines and drugs globally and we are eager to incorporate Dyadic's industrially proven C1 gene expression platform into our antibody and vaccine development and manufacturing programs” added Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute of India. “In recent years, monoclonal antibodies have emerged as preferred therapeutic candidates for the treatment of a multitude of disorders and diseases. These include a broad range of cancers, auto-immune diseases, [and] microbial infections. Traditionally, antibody treatment is extremely costly and not widely affordable in the developed and developing worlds. We at Serum are committed to finding ways to speed the development, lower the cost and improve the performance of high quality, affordable antibodies and vaccines which have the potential to treat and prevent various diseases in India and across the globe. Dyadic's C1 gene expression platform has the potential to help us deliver on our commitment to bring down the cost of biologics in order to make them more accessible and affordable to patients globally.”

“This collaboration will further demonstrate the potential of C1 to become a platform of choice for manufacturing protein-based biologics and vaccines because of its speed of development and low cost of goods,” said Matthew Jones, Dyadic’s CCO.

Source: Dyadic