Enzo Biochem Unit Partners with Innate Pharma S.A. to Validate Key System for Antibody Drug Conjugate Development

ProteoStat® Dye to be Used in Early Phase Cancer Drug Design

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Enzo Biochem, Inc. (NYSE:ENZ), a vertically integrated biosciences and clinical laboratory company, announced today that its Life Sciences division has established a collaboration with Innate Pharma S.A. to support a novel application of its ProteoStat® products for antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) design. ADCs are monoclonal antibodies engineered to go unnoticed, delivering cytotoxic drugs to cells expressing the antigen target. Cancer therapy has become the most prevalent application area, with 30 ADCs currently in clinical trials. Successful development of an ADC requires optimization of several elements, including the antibody, the potency of the cytotoxic drug, the stability of the linker, the site of conjugation and the stoichiometry of the resulting adducts.

Innate Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company based in France, specializes in the development of new monoclonal antibodies targeting cancer and inflammatory diseases. Its long history in the generation of these antibodies positions them to enter the field of ADCs, where they have developed a unique coupling technology. Early on in the development process, Innate Pharma recognized the need for reliable methods to evaluate the stability of these ADC products in aqueous liquid form. Long-term stability was critical for validating the technology concept for clinical applications. As such, Innate Pharma looked to Enzo Life Sciences to provide assays for screening the stability and aggregation properties of their ADCs.

As a global provider of innovative tools for biotherapeutics development, Enzo Life Sciences offers products for the entire biopharmaceutical pipeline, from drug discovery through downstream processing. Working together, Enzo and Innate Pharma validated the use of the ProteoStat® Aggregation Assay and ProteoStat® Thermal Shift Assay for ADC discovery research. Among the findings, it was observed that the greater the number of units of the anti-mitotic and anti-tumor agent coupled to the monoclonal antibody and the more lipophilic the linker, the higher the aggregation propensity. In comparison studies using existing and novel ADCs from Innate Pharma, the ProteoStat® dye consistently predicted the propensity for aggregation as well as physical and chemical stability of the conjugates. This work confirms Innate Pharma’s coupling technology as an excellent platform for the development of stable, robust ADC products. Moreover, the results demonstrate the use of Enzo’s ProteoStat® dye as a unique tool which can be broadly applied to aid in the development of ADCs, improving the optimization and scale-up of viable candidates.

“This agreement helps to broaden the application of a key product line in our Drug Discovery portfolio, a rapidly growing segment of our business,” said Barry Weiner, President of Enzo Biochem, Inc. “We have seen a proliferation of drug candidates in the cancer area, and have positioned Enzo to support both drug design efforts as well as with companion diagnostic development. We are therefore excited to have this opportunity to work with Innate Pharma, as their success in developing first-in-class therapeutic antibodies makes them an ideal partner for understanding and addressing drug development challenges.”

Jérôme Tiollier, Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer of Innate Pharma, added, “Our collaboration with Enzo Life Sciences has been mutually beneficial. Their novel ProteoStat® dye for detection of protein aggregates provides a new screening technology for enhanced lead optimization.”

With unique labeling and detection platforms, Enzo delivers assays into the bioprocessing market which provide high throughput screening capabilities without sacrificing sensitivity or specificity. In addition to the ProteoStat® assays, Enzo Life Sciences offers a comprehensive bioprocess portfolio to optimize and monitor product integrity and efficiency.

About Enzo Biochem

Enzo Biochem is a pioneer in molecular diagnostics, leading the convergence of clinical laboratories, life sciences and therapeutics through the development of unique diagnostic platform technologies that provide numerous advantages over previous standards. A global company, Enzo Biochem utilizes cross-functional teams to develop and deploy products systems and services that meet the ever-changing and rapidly growing needs of health care both today and into the future. Underpinning Enzo Biochem’s products and technologies is a broad and deep intellectual property portfolio, with patent coverage across a number of key enabling technologies.

About Innate Pharma

Innate Pharma, S.A. is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of new monoclonal antibodies targeting receptors and pathways controlling the activation of innate immunity cells. The mechanisms controlling innate immunity cells were described in the late 90’s notably by the teams of scientists who founded Innate Pharma. It is on this basis that Innate Pharma developed drug candidates with immune-stimulating properties for cancer and with immune-blocking properties in inflammatory conditions. Innate Pharma’s key expertise is in immunopharmacology and antibody technology. The company has a large panel of molecular and cellular assays and in vivo models for assessing the pharmacodynamics, the pharmacotoxicology and efficacy of drug candidates. In addition, Innate Pharma has access to a very large set of unique research tools in cellular immunology through its worldwide network of scientific collaborations. Three product-candidates resulting from the company’s research platform are currently being tested in clinical trials, two of which by partners Bristol-Myers Squibb and Novo Nordisk A/S. Listed on Euronext-Paris, Innate Pharma is based in Marseilles, France, and had 84 employees as of December 31, 2013.

Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this news release may be considered "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements include declarations regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and its management, including those related to cash flow, gross margins, revenues, and expenses are dependent on a number of factors outside of the control of the company including, inter alia, the markets for the Company’s products and services, costs of goods and services, other expenses, government regulations, litigations, and general business conditions. See Risk Factors in the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2013. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could materially affect actual results. The Company disclaims any obligations to update any forward-looking statement as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release.

For Enzo Biochem, Inc.
Anreder & Company
Steven Anreder, 212-532-3232
steven.anreder@anreder.com
or
CEOcast, Inc.
Michael Wachs, 212-732-4300
mwachs@ceocast.com

Source: Enzo Biochem, Inc.

Released May 30, 2014