Alexion: Rent or own antibodies

With at least five antibody generation companies available to serve drug developers, it seems unnecessary for a company interested in antibodies to acquire its own generation capability. But Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. determined that its need for antibodies against internally identified targets is great enough that it made more sense economically to bring such technology in house, leading to last week's deal to acquire antibody phage display company Proliferon Inc.

"It comes down to a question of rent or own," said Leonard Bell, president and CEO. He said ALXN expects to develop 10-20 antibodies to its existing targets, with one to two new antibodies entering development every 12 months. "If you want that many new antibodies, you're better off owning," he said. "We have too many targets to in-license antibodies to them all."...