BIOVECTRA and TUBE Biopharmaceuticals Sign Exclusive License for Microbial Fermentation Technology to Manufacture Tubulysins

BIOVECTRA and TUBE Biopharmaceuticals Sign Exclusive License for Microbial Fermentation Technology to Manufacture Tubulysins

16/07/18 – CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island, Canada – Today, BIOVECTRA Inc., a global Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) with microbial fermentation and synthesis capabilities with high containment, and TUBE Biopharmaceuticals GmbH, an Austrian biotech company active in the research field of cytotoxic payloads, announced that they have signed an exclusive license agreement for microbial fermentation technology to manufacture tubulysins.

After conducting further development, optimization and upscaling of the strain initially developed by TUBE Biopharmaceuticals, BIOVECTRA intends to provide the marketplace with research- and cGMP-grade tubulysins and downstream derivatives.

Tubulysins belong to a cytotoxic tetrapeptidic natural product class that result in disruption of microtubule networks and inhibition of tubulin polymerization of cancer cells, and are suitable for use in conjugation approaches such as Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs), specifically targeting drug-resistant cancers.

Financial details of this unlimited agreement were not disclosed.

For more information, please contact Jordan MacGregor, at [email protected].

About BIOVECTRA

BIOVECTRA is a CDMO that serves global pharmaceutical and biotech companies with full-service cGMP outsourcing solutions for intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients. An innovative and reliable service partner with a strong regulatory history, BIOVECTRA has over 45 years of experience specializing in:

For more information about BIOVECTRA, please visit www.biovectra.com.

About TUBE Biopharmaceuticals

TUBE Pharmaceuticals GmbH (www.tubepharma.de) was founded in January 2011 in Austria having its labs in Vienna. TUBE Pharmaceuticals develops and commercializes drug candidates derived from natural products with high potency for novel therapeutic applications in the field of oncology. Together with advanced targeting approaches safer and more efficacious therapies especially preventing tumor resistance are to be expected for patients. In-licensing opportunities in the field of natural products derived oncology drugs closer to the clinics complement the internally developed assets of the Company and help to transform the Company into an oncology development company with an attractive pipeline to create further value.

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  • 20+ years at GSK, leading R&D activities on multiple vaccine programs
  • Recently held positions in industry include: Senior Director (Function Head), Protein Biochemistry; Director, Antigen Design & Prototype Production; and, Associate Director, Antigen Design and Protein Characterization.
  • Key areas of expertise are:
    • Process development of protein Biologics/Recombinant Antigens
    • Recombinant protein expression (mammalian, insect, yeast, bacterial)
    • Production/design of Viral Vectors, mRNA vaccines, Bacterial outer membrane vesicles
    • Protein Engineering and Structural Biology
    • Defining quality attributes, biophysical characterization of proteins, and analytical strategy
  • Post graduate degrees in Functional Genomics (Université Laval) and Bioinformatics (MIT); M. Sc. Microbiology and Immunology (Laval).
  • 25+ Patent & 5 Scientific Publications

Normand Blais – Senior Director Development & Innovation, Biologics

  • 20+ years at GSK, leading R&D activities on multiple vaccine programs
  • Recently held positions in industry include: Senior Director (Function Head), Protein Biochemistry; Director, Antigen Design & Prototype Production; and, Associate Director, Antigen Design and Protein Characterization.
  • Key areas of expertise are:
    • Process development of protein Biologics/Recombinant Antigens
    • Recombinant protein expression (mammalian, insect, yeast, bacterial)
    • Production/design of Viral Vectors, mRNA vaccines, Bacterial outer membrane vesicles
    • Protein Engineering and Structural Biology
    • Defining quality attributes, biophysical characterization of proteins, and analytical strategy
  • Post graduate degrees in Functional Genomics (Université Laval) and Bioinformatics (MIT); M. Sc. Microbiology and Immunology (Laval).
  • 25+ Patent & 5 Scientific Publications

Oliver Technow - Chief Executive Officer

  • Industry Master Degree from Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce, Frankfurt Germany.
  • More than 20 years of global pharmaceutical industry experience.
  • Held numerous leadership positions in commercial development, marketing and brand management, and lifecycle management and has extensive product launch and market access expertise in Europe and North America.
  • In 1997, joined Eisai GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany and in 2002, was appointed Director, CNS Business Unit; in 2006, was appointed Vice President, Head of Global Marketing for Eisai Inc. in Woodcliff Lake, NJ;  in 2011, was appointed Vice President, Established Products Business Unit; in 2013, was appointed President & General Manager for Eisai Limited in Mississauga, ON.
  • Appointed President of BIOVECTRA Inc., December 10, 2015.
  • Board Director for BIOTECanada
  • Member of the Steering Council of Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC)
  • In 2017, appointed to the Government of Canada’s Health/Bio-sciences Strategic Economic Table
  • In November 2019, promoted to Chief Executive Officer at BIOVECTRA
  • In June 2020, named new Chair of PEI BioAlliance Board of Directors