Sobi signs licensing agreement with Affibody for IL-1

Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (publ) (Sobi) today announced that it has exercised its option to sign a licensing agreement with Swedish biotech company Affibody AB for the development of novel treatments for inflammatory diseases where interleukin-1 (IL-1) is involved. 

In 2012, Sobi signed a research collaboration agreement with Affibody, with an option to enter into exclusive licensing arrangements within IL-1. The research, which has been based on Affibody's proprietary technology, focuses on key proteins involved in the regulation of human immune and inflammatory processes.

"We are excited by the opportunities that this research collaboration offers," says Stephen James, Vice President, Head of Drug Design and Development at Sobi. "The continued expansion of our early stage pipeline is one of our main objectives this year and this will further strengthen our presence in the inflammation field and may provide additional opportunities to address the unmet medical needs in auto-inflammatory diseases."

"We are very pleased to sign a licensing agreement with Sobi," says David Bejker, CEO of Affibody. "Together we have been exploring the use of the Affibody® technology in the field of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and we are excited to continue this development."

An increasing body of evidence suggests that IL-1 is a key mediator of inflammation and driver of auto-inflammatory diseases in both adults and children. This offers a good strategic fit with Sobi's commercial focus on Inflammation as one of three key therapeutic areas, and with Sobi's strategic biologics development competence and capabilities.

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About interleukin-1 (IL-1)
The interleukin-1 family is a group of pro-inflammatory cytokines that play a central role in the regulation of immune responses in the human body. The cytokines are produced by different cells such as macrophages, monocytes and fibroblasts, and via binding to cellular IL-1 receptors they participate in acute and chronic inflammatory reactions. In addition, the IL-1 system is also involved in several other biological functions, such as metabolic and hematopoietic activities. IL-1 has emerged as therapeutic target for an expanding number of auto-inflammatory diseases where inhibition of IL-1 activity may form the basis for novel treatments.
  
About Affibody
Affibody is a Swedish biotech company focused on developing next generation biopharmaceuticals based on its unique proprietary technology platforms: Affibody® molecules and Albumod(TM). Affibody is developing a portfolio of innovative drug projects and, in addition, offers the half-life extension technology, Albumod(TM), for outlicensing. The company is currently developing four proprietary programs. The first three are therapeutic programs that targets prevention of Alzheimer's disease, autoimmune diseases, and psoriasis respectively. The fourth program is a diagnostic imaging program that is directed primarily towards metastatic breast cancer. Affibody has also ongoing commercial relationships with several companies including Abclon, Biotest, Daewoong, Daiichi Sankyo, GE Healthcare, MedImmune, Nordic Nanovector, and Sobi. More information is available at www.affibody.se.

About Sobi(TM)
Sobi(TM) is an international specialty healthcare company dedicated to rare diseases. Our mission is to develop and deliver innovative therapies and services to improve the lives of patients. The product portfolio is primarily focused on Haemophilia, Inflammation and Genetic diseases. We also market a portfolio of speciality and rare disease products for partner companies across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Russia. Sobi is a pioneer in biotechnology with world-class capabilities in protein biochemistry and biologics manufacturing. In 2015, Sobi had total revenues of SEK 3.2 billion (USD 385 M) and approximately 700 employees. The share (STO:SOBI) is listed on NASDAQ Stockholm.

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019e_Affibody_licensing agreement

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Source: Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (publ) via Globenewswire

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