Press Release
MOLOGEN in China: The first Joint Venture for Gene Therapy against Cancer
Berlin, Germany, 2004-05-19
MOLOGEN announces the next step in building up strategic alliances with biopharmaceutical companies and investors in China. MOLOGEN CEO Professor Wittig and CFO Matthias Reichel have signed a cooperation agreement in Guangzhou (Kanton-City), capital and industrial center of Guangdong (Kanton) province, in the People’s Republic of China. The partners are Doublle Bioproducts Inc. and the China Life Science Investment Co. Ltd., both registered in Guangzhou.
Doublle Bioproducts is a spin-off from the Cancer Center of Sun Yet-Sen University. Sun Yet-Sen Cancer Center is the largest and most renowned cancer hospital in China and probably the largest worldwide. China Life Science Investment represents investors, mainly from Hong Kong, who already have shares in biopharmaceutical companies, which were initiated by biotech support programs of Jinan University, and promoted through Guangzhou and Guandong province authorities.
In this first Joint Venture in China for a gene therapy against cancer with gene-modified and immunomodulated, allogeneic tumor cells the responsibility will be shared as follows: Early on, MOLOGEN will deliver gene-modified and immunomodulated tumor cells and then establish their production in China. Doublle Bioproducts will design and perform the clinical studies, and China Life Science will work on the necessary China-specific preclinical data and take care of industrial production and marketing. MOLOGEN keeps the right to commercialize and market the products outside the People’s Republic of China. Funds to finance the Joint Venture will be raised and provided by the Chinese partners.
MOLOGEN takes over GMP facilities
MOLOGEN AG as the main creditor of Geniotronic AG has taken over the GMP (good manufacturing practice) facilities for production of cell based therapeutics to clear the existing claims. The facility is one of the few GMP facilities in Europe, which are entitled to produce gentherapeutic cell preparations requiring security level S2. MOLOGEN „just in time“ took over a first class facility for production of biopharmaceutical samples for clinical studies. Thus best conditions not only for strategic alliances in China have been created.
General information about MOLOGEN
MOLOGEN focuses on its proprietary DNA technologies to create and develop treatments for high-unmet-need illnesses. The main focus are MOLOGEN's unique and patented MIDGE and dSLIM technologies. Based on these platforms, MOLOGEN is developing DNA-based vaccines and therapeutics to prevent or cure a wide range of diseases.
For its cell-based cancer therapies, MOLOGEN applies gene-modified and immunomodulated tumor cells having their origin in tumors from patients. Tumor cells were subsequently cultivated and established as cell lines. MIDGE DNA constructs and the also DNA-based molecules are then used to modify these cell lines in culture (ex-vivo).Thereby, therapeutic vaccines are produced for the treatment of metastatic states of various cancers.
Going public in 1998, MOLOGEN was one of the first German biotechnology companies to be floated on the stock exchange. The MOLOGEN shares are traded on the Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt.
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