Research into the molecular and cellular biology of humanized antibodies and their development will be conducted at the Butantan Institute, the biomedical research center linked to the State of São Paulo Health Secretariat. This study is being coordinated by Ana Maria Moro, Ph.D., a researcher at the Institute and a specialist in monoclonal antibodies.
The Butantan Institute will also produce antibodies of GMP quality on a pilot scale for use in Phase I and II clinical trials.
The agreement with the Institute is not limited to the generation of cell lines of interest to RECEPTA biopharma company, but also includes the development of highly qualified human resources skilled in technology strategically relevant to the country. The Institute will benefit by becoming qualified for the large scale production of humanized monoclonal antibodies, a capability for which there is a growing demand in the international market. These studies will be conducted in collaboration with a group led by Andrew Scott, M.D., the Director of LICR's Melbourne (Australia) Center for Clinical Sciences, and by Gerd Ritter, Ph.D. from the LICR New York (USA) Branch located at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
The partnership with the Butantan Institute has been made possible by financing from the Innovative Therapeutic and Diagnostic Products Program jointly set up by the Financier of Studies and Projects (FINEP) of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) and the Ministry of Health.