Singapore: Boehringer Ingelheim, a global leader in the field of biopharmaceuticals manufacturing, and Apexigen, an emerging biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the R&D of best-in-class therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, signed a manufacturing supply agreement.

As part of the agreement Boehringer 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-and-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 Mr Simon Sturge, Boehringer Ingelheim's senior vice president. "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 and CEO, Apexigen. "We look forward to working closely with them to insure the success of this key member of our product pipeline."