BOTHELL — Seattle Genetics Inc. has chosen Abbott Laboratories to manufacture one of the Bothell company’s most advanced experimental anti-cancer drugs as it heads toward a possible commercial launch.
Abbott, based in Abbott Park, Ill., will make SGN-30 and the antibody-drug combination used in SGN-35 for Seattle Genetics.
Seattle Genetics previously used neighboring ICOS Corp. to make smaller amounts of experimental drugs for early clinical tests. This is Seattle Genetics’ first agreement to take a drug through the commercial launch stage.
"Abbott has a great reputation and lots of experience. What we wanted was a partner who’d previously commercialized a drug, which Abbott has," said Eric Dobmeier, vice president of corporate affairs for Seattle Genetics.
SGN-30, an antibody-based drug for treatment of malignancies such as Hodgkin’s disease, is in second-phase tests. It also is being tested for use against other diseases.
Because SGN-30 would help a relatively small population — about 7,600 cases of Hodgkin’s disease are diagnosed in the United States annually — the drug last summer received "orphan drug" status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That means Seattle Genetics can receive federal research funds and special protection against generic competitors for the drug.
SGN-35 uses an antibody-drug conjugate that can finely target tumor cells, and is being tested against similar diseases.
The agreement Seattle Genetics and Abbott announced Tuesday is for manufacturing only; Abbott will not take over ownership of the drugs.
"We have six products in the pipeline, and we own all the rights to all of them," Dobmeier said. "We feel that’s a real strength for the company."
He added, however, that the firm would not rule out a partnering agreement for some of its other drugs for which it gave up partial ownership or royalty rights.
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