CAT and mouse

AstraZeneca plc has taken another step toward fulfilling its ambition to have biologics represent 25% of its Phase III programs by 2010. Last week, the company licensed Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s VelocImmune technology, a mouse-based production platform for human monoclonal antibodies that should complement the phage and ribosome display platforms the pharma company got from its acquisition of Cambridge Antibody Technology last year.

Using transgenic mice to develop human MAbs is hardly new. Indeed, AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN; AZN, London, U.K.) is continuing its collaboration on XenoMouse-derived human MAbs with Amgen Inc. (AMGN, Thousand Oaks, Calif.), which inherited the technology when it acquired Abgenix Inc...