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Collaboration will boost monoclonal antibody R&D and develop novel stem cell antibodies for diagnostic and therapeutic applications

A*STAR’s Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) has inked an agreement with Raven Biotechnologies, Inc., located in San Francisco, USA, for the development of a novel panel of stem cell antibodies or monoclonal antibodies. These antibodies are being hailed as the “new medicine of the future” as they are able to hit their designated targets precisely, making it easy and safe for therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

BTI’s partnership with Raven Biotechnologies will allow BTI to make use of Raven Biotechnologies’ proprietary whole cell immunization technology to develop monoclonal antibodies. This will allow BTI to further its research into stem cell purification and cell based diagnostics. Raven Biotechnologies, on the other hand, will use the monoclonal antibodies for screening cancer stem cell lines and cancer therapeutic development.

Said Professor Miranda Yap, Executive Director of BTI, “Both BTI and Raven have much to gain from this strategic alliance. It will help strengthen our respective fields of research and advance science for the betterment of human healthcare. The generation of these novel antibodies to stem cells with Raven’s proprietary technology will enable the development of tools for the characterization of stem cells and more importantly, these antibodies will also be invaluable for the separation of stem cell populations in BTI’s cell therapy work".

Said Dr George Schreiner, CEO of Raven Biotechnologies, “Cancer stem cells represent a promising new source of oncology drug targets. Our collaboration with the Bioprocessing Technology Institute’s stem cell research team allows Raven to leverage its novel technology for developing monoclonal antibodies through immunization with stem cells. BTI is a world-class research institute. We anticipate that this collaboration should yield a substantial number of novel monoclonal antibodies targeting cancer stem cells suitable for development by Raven Biotechnologies and its partners.”

Stem cell antibodies have become increasingly useful in conducting research in areas such as cancer therapeutics, monitoring stem cells populations for pluripotency and distinguishing different population of stem cells for detailed analysis or cell transplantation. The monoclonal antibody global market for 2007 was worth USD$31 billion and is expected to swell to USD$56 billion by 2012 according to a report by BCC Research published on 11 December 2007.