Engineered Human Therapies
Twist Bioscience and Pandion Therapeutics Expand Antibody Optimization Collaboration
Dec 12, 2019
December 11, 2019 08:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ: TWST), a company enabling customers to succeed through its offering of high-quality synthetic DNA using its silicon platform, today announced an expanded antibody optimization collaboration with Pandion Therapeutics. Based on the successful completion of its first project for Pandion, Twist Biopharma, a division of Twist Bioscience, will apply its antibody optimization platform to additional Pandion antibodies. Pandion is developing modular biologics and antibodies for autoimmune regulation that are designed to achieve lasting therapeutic outcomes for patients with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
“Twist has been an excellent collaborator, driving this project’s success quickly and efficiently, and we are extremely pleased with the outcome,” said Jo Viney, Ph.D., co-founder, president, and CSO of Pandion. “The first project required Twist to improve the affinity of an autoimmune bispecific antibody and harmonize species cross-reactivity for optimal preclinical testing. Based on Twist’s success, we look forward to optimizing additional antibodies.”“Our work with Pandion is an excellent example of how our antibody optimization solution can change the discovery and early development paradigm,” said Emily M. Leproust, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Twist Bioscience. “Using our optimization platform, we were able to rapidly identify antibodies with improved binding affinities across different animal species – the requirement for this project – which now positions the bispecific antibody for efficient preclinical development.”About the Twist Antibody Optimization PlatformTwist Biopharma, a division of Twist Bioscience, has created the Twist Antibody Optimization Platform to quickly generate high-diversity, high quality biologics that are based on antibodies that naturally occur in the human body. We are able to take any antibody, put the DNA sequence of the antibody into our proprietary software, and identify all of the variations of the antibody sequence which occur within the human “repertoire.” With Twist’s ability to “write” DNA from scratch, we then create all of those antibody variants – typically in the range of tens of billions of variants - and put them into a variant library to screen and select the best antibody candidates, as defined by their optimized affinity, expression, solubility, developability, half-life, immunogenicity and druggability. Ultimately, our objective is to create a biologic with fewer side effects for patients, while at the same time reducing the time to filing an Investigational New Drug. For more information please visit the Twist Biopharma website.About Twist Bioscience CorporationTwist Bioscience is a leading and rapidly growing synthetic biology company that has developed a disruptive DNA synthesis platform to industrialize the engineering of biology. The core of the platform is a proprietary technology that pioneers a new method of manufacturing synthetic DNA by “writing” DNA on a silicon chip. Twist is leveraging its unique technology to manufacture a broad range of synthetic DNA-based products, including synthetic genes, tools for next-generation sequencing (NGS) preparation, and antibody libraries for drug discovery and development. Twist is also pursuing longer-term opportunities in digital data storage in DNA and biologics drug discovery. Twist makes products for use across many industries including healthcare, industrial chemicals, agriculture and academic research.Follow us on Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTubeLegal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained herein are forward-looking statements reflecting the current beliefs and expectations of management made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that may cause Twist Bioscience’s actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the risks and uncertainties of the ability to attract new customers and retain and grow sales from existing customers; risks and uncertainties of rapidly changing technologies and extensive competition in synthetic biology could make the products Twist Bioscience is developing obsolete or non-competitive; uncertainties of the retention of a significant customer; risks of third party claims alleging infringement of patents and proprietary rights or seeking to invalidate Twist Bioscience’s patents or proprietary rights; and the risk that Twist Bioscience’s proprietary rights may be insufficient to protect its technologies. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to Twist Bioscience’s business in general, see Twist Bioscience’s risk factors set forth in Twist Bioscience’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 9, 2019. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and Twist Bioscience specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.All Twist Bioscience products are Research Use Only.
