Through the partnership, Takeda will have access to Twist’s “Library of Libraries,” a large phage display library created using precisely defined synthetic DNA sequences to discover unique antibodies to important therapeutic targets including GPCRs.
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Shares of Twist Bioscience jumped nearly 10% in morning trading after the company forged an agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical to expand biologics discovery capabilities and discover, validate and optimize new antibody candidates for a number of different indications.
Through the partnership, Takeda will have access to Twist’s “Library of Libraries,” a large phage display library created using precisely defined synthetic DNA sequences to discover unique antibodies to important therapeutic targets including GPCRs. Target indications include oncology, rare diseases, neuroscience and gastroenterology.
Pharmaceutical companies have traditionally generated antibody libraries through a process called “random mutagenesis,” which uses a technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) mutagenesis. That technique is used to introduce sequence errors, or variations, into the copies of the antibody. However, while this generates many different antibody variants, the changes are entirely random and are unknown until the antibody DNA is sequenced. In addition, because of the random approach, there is no guarantee that the resulting antibodies will target the desired region of interest.
To improve on this imprecise technique, Twist’s synthetic DNA platform provides a way to customize every antibody variation and construct a robust precise library systematically to target the entire region of interest, the company said. Through its Library of Libraries, Twist can use its platform for antibody engineering, affinity maturation, and humanization, which simplifies downstream screening and identifies more lead molecules. The company notes that its libraries are explicitly developed for a specific area of the genome or tailored to a specific disease, with antibody compounds evenly represented across all areas of the genome desired
For Twist, the partnership with Takeda marks a first. Takeda is its first pharmaceutical partner for Twist, although the company does have other partnerships for its biopharma division including Schroedinger, Pandion and LakePharma.
Robert Mabry, head of Global Biologics Research at Takeda, said Twist Bioscience has a unique ability to generate cutting-edge libraries through its proprietary silicon platform. When coupled with Takeda’s “deep insight” into therapeutic drug discovery and development, the combination will enable the Japanese pharma giant to expand its growing pipeline of targeted biologic candidates, Mabry said.
Under terms of the agreement, Takeda will pay annual licensing fees to Twist Biopharma, a subsidiary of Twist Bioscience, for access to the phage library. Additional milestones and royalties would be paid from any compounds developed from the agreement. The financial amounts involved in the deal were not disclosed in the announcement this morning.
Emily Leproust, co-founder and chief executive officer of Twist Bioscience, said she looks forward to seeing the fruits of the partnership with Takeda. The combination of her company’s libraries and Takeda’s “deep insight into therapeutic drug discovery and development,” will lead to “new frontiers in bringing personalized therapies to patients worldwide.”
