Selexis SA and IAVI Expand Collaboration to Advance Multiple HIV Vaccine Candidates Toward Clinical Testing

Organizations to Jointly Develop High Performance Research Cell Banks to Expedite the Manufacturing of Engineered HIV Envelope Proteins

Geneva, Switzerland, 22 September 2016 – Selexis SA, a pioneering life sciences company and global leader in mammalian (suspension-adapted CHO-K1) cell line generation, announced today that it has expanded its collaboration with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). Under two additional service agreements, making three in total, Selexis will develop high-performance research cell banks to manufacture multiple HIV envelope proteins engineered by scientists at IAVI’s Neutralizing Antibody Center (NAC) at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and other parts of TSRI to help induce the generation of neutralizing antibodies against HIV through vaccination. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Previously, Selexis worked with IAVI on another engineered HIV envelope protein, also being developed by IAVI’s NAC at TSRI and other parts of TSRI, to increase cell line productivity using the Selexis CHO-Mplus Libraries™. This effort resulted in an improvement of more than 3,000 percent in expression titers over conventional approaches.

“Selexis and IAVI continue to build upon the success of the initial collaboration to further advance HIV vaccine research and development,” said Yemi Onakunle, PhD, vice president, licensing and business development, Selexis SA. “HIV envelope proteins are difficult to express and manufacture with consistent high quality and in high quantities. However, our proprietary SUREtechnology™ platform, which includes the engineered CHO-Mplus Libraries™, addresses this issue. At Selexis, our goal is to translate innovation and scientific research into life-saving medications. It is therefore incredibly rewarding to have the opportunity to leverage our production cell lines in the development of vaccines against HIV, a viral disease of such high unmet need.”

“Manufacturing of engineered HIV proteins in consistent quantity and quality is critical for further development of promising vaccine candidates toward early clinical testing,” said Labeeb Abboud, Senior Vice President, Business Development at IAVI. “We are pleased to extend our collaboration with Selexis to expedite the development of broadly effective vaccines that will be needed to help end the AIDS epidemic.”

About Selexis SA

Selexis SA is a pioneering life sciences company and a global leader in mammalian (suspension-adapted CHO-K1) cell line generation, providing unparalleled proprietary technology and the highly specialized expertise that is necessary to translate scientific innovation into life-saving medicines for patients. Selexis’ SUREtechnology Platform™ facilitates the rapid, stable, and cost-effective production of virtually any recombinant protein and provides seamless integration of the bioproduction continuum, spanning discovery to commercialization. With nearly 90 clients worldwide and more than 70 drug products in clinical and commercial manufacturing utilizing its cell lines, Selexis has a history of empowering scientists and biopharmaceutical companies around the world to realize the full potential of their research.

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