Pierre Fabre And Lonza Enter Manufacturing Agreement For W0180 Antibody Drug Product

• Lonza will provide clinical drug product manufacturing for W0180, an oncology drug candidate discovered by Pierre Fabre targeting solid tumors, from its fill and finish facility in Stein, Switzerland
• Pierre Fabre will leverage Lonza's drug product expertise and fill and finish capabilities

Toulouse /PRNewswire/ - Lonza, a global development and manufacturing partner to the pharma, biotech and nutrition industries, and French pharmaceutical group Pierre Fabre announced today that the companies have entered into a manufacturing agreement.

This collaboration is aimed at manufacturing W0180, an innovative monoclonal antibody discovered by Pierre Fabre targeting the VISTA checkpoint, currently being investigated as a single agent and in combination with pembrolizumab in a Phase I clinical trial (NCT04564417) in various solid tumors.

Lonza will provide cGMP drug product (DP) manufacturing services for clinical supply from its fill and finish facility at Stein, Switzerland. Lonza's ability to provide exemplary drug product development and manufacturing services offers customers innovative solutions and the possibility to supply high-quality products for clinical use.

Jean-Luc Lowinski, Pierre Fabre Medical Care CEO, said: "We are delighted to entrust the production of the W0180 Drug Product to Lonza. Its Drug Product Services are well-suited for our innovative therapy manufacturing needs. The W0180 will be manufactured in Lonza's GS Xceed^® Expression CHO System, also successfully used for the IGF1R and cMet antibodies discovered by Pierre Fabre."

About W0180
W0180 is a first-in-class antibody targeting VISTA (V-domain Ig suppressor of T cell Activation). VISTA is a negative checkpoint regulator of T cell response. VISTA is expressed within the tumor microenvironment, where its inhibition can enhance antitumor immune responses. Furthermore, an increase in VISTA expression has been reported after treatment with anti-PD1/L1 and anti-CTLA4. This confirms that VISTA may play a key role as a mechanism of resistance to the currently used immunotherapies. W0180 given to patients as a single agent or in combination with anti-PD1/L1 therapy has a potential in multiple cancer indications, including those with myeloid immunosuppressive infiltrates where the VISTA pathway is expressed.

About Pierre Fabre
The Pierre Fabre Group is the second largest private French healthcare group and the second largest dermo-cosmetics manufacturer in the world. In 2021, it generated €2.5 billion in revenues, 66% of which came from international sales. Pierre Fabre employs some 9500 people worldwide and manufactures over 95% of its products in France. Its portfolio includes several medical franchises and international brands, including Pierre Fabre Oncology, Pierre Fabre Dermatology, Eau Thermale Avène, Klorane, Ducray, René Furterer, A-Derma and Pierre Fabre Oral Care.

In oncology, Pierre Fabre enjoys over 35 years of experience in discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing, with a portfolio of therapies covering colorectal, breast, lung cancers, melanoma and pre-cancerous conditions, such as actinic keratosis. Pierre Fabre's innovation and commercialization efforts in oncology are focused on targeted therapies, biotherapies and immuno-oncology.

The Pierre Fabre Group is 86%-owned by the Pierre Fabre Foundation, a public-interest foundation, and secondarily by its own employees through an international employee stock ownership plan.

Further information about Pierre Fabre can be found at www.pierre-fabre.com, @PierreFabre.