15 June 2009

Delphi Genetics grants licence to Sanofi Pasteur for antibiotic-free manufacturing of biological products

Announcement
Novel microbiological technique permits biosynthesis of proteins at higher yields
and without reliance on antibiotics -
Charleroi, Belgium 15 juin2009 - Delphi Genetics SA (“Delphi”) today announced
that the company has entered into an agreement with Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines
division of Sanofi-Aventis Group, for the manufacture of biological pharmaceuticals
using Delphi’s patented StabyExpressTM technology.
StabyExpress is a new approach to stabilising the genetic machinery required to
manufacture proteins, the raw materials at the heart of many modern
biopharmaceuticals including vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and therapeutic
proteins. Biopharmaceuticals represent a growing proportion of marketed drugs
worldwide with 15 % of the worldwide pharmaceutical market.
Delphi’s StabyExpress technology improves the efficiency of protein manufacture
and at a higher quality than alternative approaches.
Moreover, the technology avoids use of antibiotic resistance genes and is therefore in
line with recent FDA and EMEA recommendations against the use of antibiotics in
manufacturing of proteins for human and veterinary use. Many biological products
currently in clinical development and licensed for sale rely on antibiotic resistance
genes in the manufacturing process. The use of the StabyExpress avoids any concern
regarding the use of antibiotic resistance and offers next generation biological
products a more regulatory-consistent manufacturing strategy.
StabyExpress is a proprietary technology developed by Delphi Genetics. Under the
agreement Sanofi Pasteur will have the non-exclusive right to use the technology for a
range of vaccines it is planning to manufacture. In exchange for the licence, Delphi
will receive milestone payments and royalties. No further financial details of the
agreement were disclosed.
Philippe Gabant, CEO of Delphi Genetics commented, “We have already applied the
StabyExpress in a range of smaller commercial collaborations so we are pleased now
that one of the world’s largest biologicals manufacturers has also recognized the
importance of our technology. We look forward to further transactions of this kind
with other large manufacturers of biologicals products. In addition, we have retained
exclusive rights to our technology for use in specific named programmes with future
strategic partners”.
In November 2008, Delphi Genetics announced a collaboration with partner
Eurogentec to allow Staby technology to be included in Eurogentec’s contract
manufacturing offering for biological products.
About Delphi Genetics SA
Founded in 2001, Delphi Genetics develops new and more effective products and
technologies for gene cloning and protein expression in bacteria by exploiting its
expertise in bacterial poison-antidote genes. Delphi Genetics’ patented Staby®
technology improves the efficiency of protein expression and facilitates successful
antibiotic-free production of recombinant proteins impossible to produce using
standard methods. For more information please visit http://www.delphigenetics.com.