ABL and Odimma Therapeutics Enter Development Agreement

ABL Europe (ABL), a pure play contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specialized in development and manufacturing of virus for vaccine candidates, gene and cancer therapies, and Odimma Therapeutics, a biotech focusing on personalized cancer immunotherapy, have signed a development agreement.

ABL will manufacture the viral component of Odimma’s proprietary immunization platform ODI-2001. The viral component present in ODI-2001 plays the role of both a strong immune adjuvant and of a carrier for the DNA vector expressing personalized neoantigens. The GMP grade material produced by ABL will support clinical trials and early commercialization.

Cancer is a leading cause of death and morbidity worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer burden rose to 19,3 million new cases and accounted for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. One of the key challenges in the treatment of cancer is the improvement of current immunotherapies. Tailoring the medical treatment to each patient’s tumor characteristics is one of the most promising approaches in the field.

“The production of our viral component is the first pharmaceutical step in the development of ODI-2001, our personalized cancer immunotherapy ready to enter into clinic,” said Jean-Marc Limacher, MD, chairman, Odimma Therapeutics. “We trust very much in the strong and historic expertise of ABL in the bioproduction of therapeutic viruses.”

Patrick Mahieux, managing director, ABL Europe, said, “We are proud to collaborate with Odimma and leverage our long-lasting experience in viral vector manufacturing to contribute to bring solutions for the most difficult cancers to treat.”