Lonza will gain three platforms that can be leveraged at various stages of nonclinical activities.
Lonza acquired Algonomics, a CRO specialized in immunogenicity services for biotherapeutic development. Algonomics’ technologies and services have been developed to span the entire nonclinical drug development process.
The platforms include: Epibase®, a patented in silico T-cell epitope bioinformatics tool for immunogenicity assessment; Epibase-IV, an in vitro cellular assay platform for screening and validating the safety and immunogenicity of protein therapeutics or vaccine candidates; and Tripole®, a toolbox for refined downstream antibody/protein modeling and structural analysis.
The companies believe Tripole in particular will complement Lonza’s AggreSolve™ Protein Aggregation Predictor platform. “By combining the Algonomics’ immunogenicity screening platform with Lonza’s advanced protein technologies such as AggreSolve, a comprehensive solution is offered for the design and optimization of biologics,” says Philippe Stas, Ph.D., Algonomics CEO.
Part of Lonza’s Advanced Protein Technology Services, AggreSolve comprises a number of complementary tools that facilitate the analysis of protein sequences to predict potential protein stability and aggregation issues.
“The acquisition of this business is in line with our goal to offer a compelling portfolio of services and technologies for the creation, optimization, and development of advanced, best-in-class biopharmaceuticals,” comments Janet White, head of Lonza development services and biologics R&D.
