Wyeth, Ambrx Form Multi-target Alliance

Wyeth and Ambrx, Inc. have formed a worldwide alliance to discover, develop, and commercialize protein drug candidates for three undisclosed targets. The alliance will utilize Ambrx’s recent breakthroughs in applying its protein medicinal chemistry platform to proteins produced in mammalian cells such as antibodies and antibody-toxin conjugates.

Ambrx is eligible for payments from an upfront commitment, target loading fees and research funding, as well as preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments and royalties on sales of products resulting from the collaboration. Terms were not disclosed.

“This collaboration with Ambrx reinforces Wyeth’s commitment to sustaining and growing our already robust capabilities in the field of biologics drug discovery through partnerships with biotech innovators,” said Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., president, Wyeth Research. “We are enthusiastic about working with Ambrx, a company with the ability to create and advance precisely engineered biologic drug candidates into clinical trials using its proprietary platform.”

Stephen Kaldor, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Ambrx, said, “Wyeth is a long-standing leader in protein therapeutics with a strong record of successfully developing innovative products. We are pleased that Wyeth recognizes the power of the Ambrx EuCODE platform and look forward to collaborating with Wyeth’s talented personnel to produce the next generation of biologic drugs.”

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