Complix Advances Novel Biospecific Immunotherapeutic CMX-02 - Enters Agreement with Selexis to Access SUREtechnology Platform™

HASSELT, Belgium, December 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Complix NV, a biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of transformative protein therapeutics, called Alphabodies™, for the treatment of cancer and severe autoimmune diseases, announces that it is advancing the development of CMX-02, a potential treatment of severe autoimmune disease. CMX-02 is a bispecific Alphabody-antibody fusion protein that simultaneously targets TNFα and IL-23. The Company has entered into an agreement with Switzerland-based Selexis SA to enable the production of this novel drug candidate. 

Under the agreement, Complix will have access to the Selexis SUREtechnology Platform™ for the production of high-expressing and stable clonal cell lines for use in the development and commercial manufacturing of CMX-02. Complix expects to move more rapidly towards the clinical development of CMX-02 as a result of this deal.

CMX-02 is a bispecific Alphabody-antibody fusion that combines the benefits of two major classes of therapeutic proteins and simultaneously targets two key cytokines in the inflammation cascade that lies at the basis of autoimmunity, namely TNFα and IL-23. Complix believes that CMX-02, with its dual activity, can tackle both the upstream cascade initiation as well as the more downstream acute phase of the disease, and, therefore, has the potential to offer major clinical benefits over existing therapies.

TNFα and IL-23 are the targets for a number of highly successful antibody-based therapeutics that generate multi-billion $ sales and provide benefits to many patients worldwide. However, these therapies cannot treat certain types of patients effectively and have limitations with respect to their long-term therapeutic benefits, highlighting the need for improved treatment options such as CMX-02.

Dr. Mark Vaeck, CEO of Complix, said: "I am pleased to report the excellent progress we are making in developing CMX-02. By targeting both TNFα and IL-23 simultaneously I believe that CMX-02 can deliver important benefits for treating patients with severe autoimmune diseases such as psoriatic arthritis and Crohn´s disease. I am also excited about our deal with Selexis which will allow us to produce and develop this novel immunotherapeutic more quickly."

Marco Bocci, vice president of business development and licensing of Selexis, added: "The SUREtechnology Platform is the perfect fit for expressing the Alphabody fusion proteins that represent an entirely novel and unique class of biologicals. Our deep understanding of our CHO K1 cell line continues to help biopharmaceutical companies to rapidly advance innovative therapeutic proteins into the clinic and ultimately the patient."  

About Complix 

Complix is a biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of game changing protein therapeutics, called Alphabodies™, mainly focused on oncology and autoimmune diseases.

Alphabodies are a revolutionary class of biologicals that have the potential to address a wide range of disease targets, in particular, intracellular targets that are considered undruggable by current drug formats, such as antibodies or small chemicals.

Complix´ current R&D efforts are focused on the development of Cell Penetrating Alphabodies (CPABs) that have demonstrated a unique capacity to enter tumor cells and tissues effectively and selectively modulate intracellular protein-to-protein interactions (PPIs), which play a key role in the initiation and progression of cancer.

Complix is also developing Alphabody based bispecifics for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Its most advanced drug candidate CMX-02 is a bispecific Alphabody-antibody fusion protein that simultaneously targets two key cytokines in the inflammation cascade, namely TNFα and IL-23. Complix believes that CMX-02, with its dual activity, has the potential to offer major clinical benefits over existing therapies.

Complix has established a strong intellectual property position protecting the Alphabody™ platform and its emerging product portfolio through the filing of multiple broad patent applications. Alphabody-based therapeutics are independent of antibody-based patent claims and offer a unique freedom-to-operate position.

Since its founding in 2008 Complix has raised a total of more than €20 million in venture financing, including a €12 million B round in June 2013 and a €7 million Series A equity round in 2010.

Contacts
Complix NV
Dr. Mark Vaeck, CEO
+32-9-261-69-40

About Selexis SA 

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, Selexis SA is a global life science company with innovative technologies for biologic drug discovery and mammalian Research Cell Banks for scale-up to manufacturing of recombinant therapeutic proteins. With the Company's SUREtechnology Platform™ biopharmaceutical companies can significantly reduce the time, effort, and costs associated with developing high-performance mammalian cell lines for the production of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and other recombinant proteins including difficult-to-express proteins such as plasma proteins, GPCRs and non-natural proteins such as fusion proteins. Selexis generated cell lines are being used in a variety of programs from drug discovery to a commercial product.

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Media Inquires for Selexis
Robert Meister
Head, Corporate Communications
Tel. +1-602-953-1717
robert.meister@selexis.com

Company Inquiries for Selexis
Marco Bocci, PhD, DPharm
Vice President, European Licensing and Business Development
Tel. +41-22-308-93-26
marco.bocci@selexis.com