Cardinal Health Collaborates with Centocor on Biopharmaceuticals

Cardinal Health has entered a feasibility and commercial option agreement with Centocor, Inc. to develop cell lines using Cardinal’s Gene Product Expression (GPEx) cell line engineering technology. Cardinal Health will use its GPEx technology to engineer cell lines expressing undisclosed Centocor monoclonal antibodies. Cardinal’s technology enables rapid genetic engineering of stable mammalian cell lines. These cell lines are used to produce human proteins and antibodies, known as biopharmaceuticals.

“We are very pleased that Centocor, with their great depth of experience and success in the areas of both antibody R&D and commercialization, has chosen to evaluate our GPEx technology with several of their antibodies,” said Paul Weiss, PhD, president of Cardinal Health’s biopharmaceutical development services center in Middleton, Wisconsin. “We have made great progress in developing both the GPEx technology, as well as our manufacturing capabilities, especially for antibodies, and are looking forward to proving our ability to rapidly engineer stable, high expressing cell lines for Centocor to evaluate.”

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Centocor does have the option of expanding the collaboration based on the evaluation of these first GPEx cell lines.