Perseus Proteomics and Axcelead DDP launch a collaboration for an antibody drug discovery support service

2022.08.19

Perseus Proteomics Inc. (Head office: Meguro, Tokyo; President & CEO: Takuya Yokokawa, “Perseus”) and Axcelead Drug Discovery Partners Inc. (Head office: Fujisawa, Kanagawa; President & CEO: Yoshinori Ikeura, “Axcelead DDP”) today announced a collaboration in the antibody drug discovery support service.

Perseus is generating antibody-based transformative therapeutics. Perseus has the proprietary and unique screening platform, ICOS*, for phage display methods utilizing highly diversified human and camel antibody libraries, in addition to hybridoma methods. The unique multiple platforms enable discovery of highly potent and selective functional antibodies against challenging targets.  The collaboration with Axcelead DDP, which has rich experience of in vitro/in vivo evaluation for various targets, will enable higher quality and customized support for antibody drug discovery according customer’s needs.

This collaboration aims to provide customers with the seamlessly integrated one-stop support for antibody drug discovery. Perseus provides antibody generation such as screening, humanization, and improvement of physical properties with the innovative platforms, and Axcelead DDP, which has broad drug discovery platform capabilities, performs various nonclinical studies including in vitro/in vivo evaluation of efficacy, safety and distribution utilizing a broad range of drug discovery capabilities.

Takuya Yokokawa, President & CEO of Perseus, said, “When we collaborate, as antibody professionals, with Axcelead DDP that provides all types of drug discovery solutions from advice for drug discovery research to outsourcing service, a high-quality antibody drug discovery support service can be provided in one-stop. We will further strive for better antibody technologies and contribute to promoting antibody drug discovery throughout the world.”

Yoshinori Ikeura, President & CEO of Axcelead DDP, said, “Through the collaboration with Perseus, we are able to provide a one-stop antibody drug discovery support for customers. We, Axcelead DDP, will continuously pursue development of new technologies and collaboration with partners having an unprecedent platform, and contribute to discovery of highly innovative medicines as the best partner for all engaged in drug discovery.”

* ICOS method: Isolation of antigen/antibody Complexes through Organic Solvent method. A technique to obtain antibodies that recognize the three-dimensional structure of proteins on cell surface using living cells. This is a unique screening method using organic solvents, which enables us to obtain efficiently unique antibodies with high specificity from approximately 100 billion phage antibody libraries (Patent No. 4870348).

About Perseus
Perseus Proteomics is a bio-venture established in February 2001, which originated in the University of Tokyo. It is engaged in antibody drug discovery and primarily focuses on cancer by utilizing phage display method using highly diversified libraries and screening technologies as well as the traditional hybridoma method. It also provides antibody research support service and a total of 48 types of nuclear receptor antibodies/reagents. For more information, please visit
https://www.ppmx.com/en/

About Axcelead DDP
Axcelead DDP is the first integrated drug discovery solutions provider in the pharmaceutical industry in Japan, having succeeded the drug discovery research capabilities of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and started its business in July, 2017. The company provides integrated services, from discovery of drug targets to optimization of small- and medium-molecule drug candidates, in which the company has particular expertise, and to the process of bridging the gap to clinical development.