Humanigen and Lonza Announce Collaboration to Expand Manufacturing of Humanigen’s COVID-19 Therapeutic Candidate Lenzilumab
September 15, 2020- Collaboration to expand lenzilumab manufacturing capacity in advance of potential Emergency Use Authorization in 2020
- Commercial manufacturing to begin in 2021 at Lonza’s manufacturing facility at Hayward
- The collaboration is projected to take lenzilumab through product launch and commercial supply
Quote from Jean-Christophe Hyvert, Chief Commercial Officer, Lonza:
“In an effort to change the course of this pandemic, advancing lead COVID-19 therapeutics requires matched supply chain efforts and expertise to meet the continued and urgent patient needs. COVID-19 has highlighted the need for heightened industry collaboration and coordination and we are excited to work closely with Humanigen as we work to combat this global health crisis.”
Quote from Cameron Durrant, MD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer, Humanigen:
“We are ramping up our manufacturing efforts for lenzilumab, our lead drug candidate, and this collaboration with Lonza, a global manufacturing leader with expertise in technology transfer and an established track record of working with regulatory bodies for approved and commercialized products, comes at a crucial time to meet production demand for COVID-19 therapeutics this winter.”
BURLINGAME, Calif. & BASEL, Switzerland–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Humanigen, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on preventing and treating an immune hyper-response called ‘cytokine storm,’ and Lonza today announced a strategic collaboration to expand the manufacturing capacity for lenzilumab, currently in Phase 3 clinical trials for COVID-19, in advance of potential Emergency Use Authorization in 2020 and subsequent commercialization.
The collaboration enables Humanigen to leverage Lonza’s monoclonal antibody manufacturing and regulatory expertise. Lenzilumab represents Humanigen’s proprietary Humaneered® anti-human granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) monoclonal antibody with the potential to prevent and treat cytokine storm, which is believed to trigger the acute respiratory distress syndrome in severe cases of COVID-19.
This collaboration provides Humanigen with additional capacity for cGMP production of lenzilumab with operations intended to start in 2021. Production of lenzilumab will begin at Lonza’s 2,000L manufacturing facilities at Hayward (CA), USA. Technology transfer is expected to begin in Q3 2020.
More details on Humanigen’s programs in COVID-19 can be found at www.humanigen.com/covid-19, and details of the US Phase 3 potential registration study can be found at clinicaltrials.gov using ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT04351152.
About Lonza
At Lonza, we combine technological innovation with world class manufacturing and process excellence. Together, these enable our customers to deliver their discoveries in the healthcare, preservation, and protection sectors.
We are a preferred global partner to the pharmaceutical, biotech and specialty ingredients markets. We work to prevent illness and promote a healthier world by enabling our customers to deliver innovative medicines that help treat or even cure a wide range of diseases. We also offer a broad range of microbial control solutions, which help to create and maintain a healthy environment.
Founded in 1897 in the Swiss Alps, Lonza today operates in 120 sites and offices in more than 35 countries. With approximately 15,500 full-time employees, we are built from high-performing teams and of individual employees who make a meaningful difference to our own business, as well as the communities in which we operate. The company generated sales of CHF 5.9 billion in 2019 with a CORE EBITDA of CHF 1.6 billion. Find out more at www.lonza.com and follow us on Twitter @LonzaGroup or Facebook @LonzaGroupAG.
About Humanigen
Humanigen, Inc. is developing its portfolio of clinical and pre-clinical therapies for the treatment of cancers and infectious diseases via its novel, cutting-edge GM-CSF neutralization and gene-knockout platforms. We believe that our GM-CSF neutralization and gene-editing platform technologies have the potential to reduce the inflammatory cascade associated with coronavirus infection. The company’s immediate focus is to prevent or minimize the cytokine release syndrome that precedes severe lung dysfunction and ARDS in serious cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The company is also focused on creating next-generation combinatory gene-edited CAR-T therapies using strategies to improve efficacy while employing GM-CSF gene knockout technologies to control toxicity. In addition, the company is developing its own portfolio of proprietary first-in-class EphA3-CAR-T for various solid cancers and EMR1-CAR-T for various eosinophilic disorders. The company is also exploring the effectiveness of its GM-CSF neutralization technologies (either through the use of lenzilumab as a neutralizing antibody or through GM-CSF gene knockout) in combination with other CAR-T, bispecific or natural killer (NK) T cell engaging immunotherapy treatments to break the efficacy/toxicity linkage, including to prevent and/or treat graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Additionally, Humanigen and Kite, a Gilead Company, are evaluating lenzilumab in combination with Yescarta® (axicabtagene ciloleucel) in patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma in a clinical collaboration. For more information, visit www.humanigen.com.
Forward-looking statements of Humanigen
This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect management’s current knowledge, assumptions, judgment and expectations regarding future performance or events. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such statements are reasonable, they give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct and you should be aware that actual events or results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Words such as “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “potential,” “possible,” “goals,” “accelerate,” “continue,” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding the potential that lenzilumab will receive an Emergency Use Authorization in 2020 and commence commercialization, and regarding the potential additional manufacturing capacity afforded by the collaboration beginning in 2021. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the risks inherent in our lack of profitability and need for additional capital to conduct the Phase 3 study and grow our business; our dependence on partners to further the development of our product candidates; the uncertainties inherent in the development and launch of any new pharmaceutical product; the outcome of pending or future litigation; and the various risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” sections and elsewhere in the Company’s periodic and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.
Additional Information and Disclaimer
Lonza Group Ltd has its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. It has a secondary listing on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (“SGX-ST”). Lonza Group Ltd is not subject to the SGX-ST’s continuing listing requirements but remains subject to Rules 217 and 751 of the SGX-ST Listing Manual.
Certain matters discussed in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and estimates of Lonza Group Ltd, although Lonza Group Ltd can give no assurance that these expectations and estimates will be achieved. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainty and are qualified in their entirety. The actual results may differ materially in the future from the forward-looking statements included in this news release due to various factors. Furthermore, except as otherwise required by law, Lonza Group Ltd disclaims any intention or obligation to update the statements contained in this news release.
Contacts
Lonza Contact Details
Dr. Sanna Fowler
Head of External Communications
Lonza Group Ltd
Tel +41 61 316 8929
[email protected]
Dirk Oehlers
Investor Relations
Lonza Group Ltd
Tel +41 79 421 1609
[email protected]
Humanigen Contact Details
Sean Leous
Humanigen media contact
Westwicke, an ICR company
Tel +1 646-866-4012
[email protected]
Victoria Meissner, MD
Humanigen Investor contact
Westwicke, an ICR company
Tel +1 646-677-1837
[email protected]