Singapore: Swiss chemicals and drug company Lonza and USA-based BioWa, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan's Kyowa Hakko Kogyo, have entered into research agreements with Pfizer, allowing the use of the Potelligent Chok1sv Cell Line in the research and development of multiple proprietary antibodies in Pfizer's pipeline.

Potelligent Chok1sv is a host cell line for manufacturing recombinant antibodies that combines the power of BioWa's engineered glycosylation Potelligent Technology with the advantages of Lonza's industry leading GS Gene Expression System. The GS System includes Lonza's pre-eminent host cell line, Chok1sv.

"We are pleased that the core value of Potelligent Technology has been recognized by a global pharmaceutical company such as Pfizer, and are excited to work together with Pfizer on their innovative antibody research pipelines," said Dr Yasunori Yamaguchi, president and CEO of BioWa.

The Potelligent Chok1sv Cell Line retains the desirable features of a high-producing cell line (robust, high-yielding, scalable), with the advantage of a proven bioprocess platform for the Chok1sv Cell Line. Antibodies produced by this cell line exhibit enhanced antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and can exert potent cytotoxic effects even when their target antigen is low. In addition, they work in whole blood and retain all other desirable features of common antibodies.

"The GS System and the Chok1sv Cell Line continue to be a gold standard for therapeutic antibody development. We are proud to be able to support Pfizer with this technology for their ongoing development portfolio," said Ms Karen Fallen, VP Head of Licensing, Lonza Custom Development Services.