MBL has concluded the license agreement regarding fully human monoclonal antibodies for four (4) infectious diseases

NAGOYA, Japan - May 11, 2020 - Medical and Biological Laboratories Co., Ltd. (MBL), a JSR Life Sciences company, announces today that MBL has concluded the license agreement with China National Biotec Group Co., Ltd. (CNBG) of a subsidiary of China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation (SINOPHARM) to comprehensively license fully human monoclonal antibodies generated by MBL for four (4) infectious diseases treatment.

Under this license agreement, MBL confirms the development plan implemented by CNBG and its progress, and receives a license fee including running royalties as consideration for this license. CNBGacquires the exclusive license to develop, manufacture, and sell those antibodies and to use related technical know-hows in China and the other Asian regions (excluding Japan), and begin development in China.

The fully human monoclonal antibodies were generated by using MBL’s basic technology of theSPYMEG* or the phage display technology. The antibodies are expected to help in treating and preventing pandemic infections including Influenza because of their broadly neutralizing activity.

*SPYMEG: SPYMEG have been developed as a novel human lymphocyte fusion partner cell line in collaboration with Prof. Naomasa Yamamoto of Ohu University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Fukushima, Japan). Through the fusion of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with SPYMEG, we can efficiently and reproducibly establish hybridomas that stably produce monoclonal antibodies of complete human origin. Hybridoma construction using SPYMEG technology provides greater efficiency compared with other human fusion partners reported so far. https://www.mblbio.com/e/r_and_d/spymeg.html

About MBL Medical & Biological Laboratories, Co., LTD.

MBL was founded in 1969 as the first manufacturer of antibodies in Japan. Using technology built on advances in immunology and molecular biology, MBL offers clinical diagnostics and research reagents designed for analysis of proteins and/or genes associated primarily with autoimmune disorders, cancer, gynecological diseases, and infectious diseases. In recent years MBL has also been actively developing biomarker reagents and companion diagnostics, taking advantage of our strength in immunological and gene detection techniques. MBL is a JSR Life Sciences company.

About China National Biotec Group Co., Ltd.

CNBG is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SINOPHARM, the largest state-owned enterprise in theChinese pharmaceutical and healthcare field. CNBG was established in 1919, plays an irreplaceable professional role of social support and stabilization in national emergency prevention, control, rescue and disaster relief against infectious diseases in compliance with the concept of “care of life and care of health”. CNBG has an extensive product line-up covering six major bio product areas: vaccines, blood products, medical aesthetics, animal health, antibody drugs and medical diagnostics. CNBG provides over 80% of the vaccines used in China's vaccination program. CNBG is the only domestic botulinum toxin manufacturer approved by the Chinese government and medical and aesthetic products are highly regarded in the market.