Novozymes Biopharma to present on creating market opportunities through drug half-life extension

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Novozymes Biopharma, part of Novozymes A/S, the world leader in bioinnovation, today announced that it will be hosting a panel session within the manufacturing of biologics and drugs session track at the BIO Business Forum, during the 2011 BIO International Convention in Washington D.C, June 27-30. Svend Licht, senior director, Novozymes Biopharma will be moderating the session entitled ‘Patient Compliance and market opportunities – the need for half-life extension’ on Tuesday 28th June at 8.30am in room 156 AB, along with guest speakers from the world’s leading drug development companies, including Pfizer, Sanofi, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Roche. The panel has been identified as leaders in their respective fields who use differing means of improving pharmacokinetics of biological drugs to offer enhanced benefits in the clinic.

To increase market share for a given drug, pharmaceutical companies must consider healthcare costs, user acceptance and patient compliance. The parenteral delivery of therapeutic proteins and peptides is often associated with poor stability, immunogenicity or lack of efficacy due to short protein half-life or poor bioavailability. As a consequence, there is an identified need for solutions that extend the plasma half-life of drugs when delivered systematically. The panel session will address such challenges and describe how companies can design and manufacture improved drugs with better pharmacokinetic profiles.

A presentation by Dr. Dave Mead, business development director at Novozymes Biopharma will also take place on Tuesday 28th June at 2.00pm in the Georgetown presentation room. The presentation will explore the challenges associated with poor pharmacokinetic profiles and introduce innovative new technologies that offer the potential to tailor drug half-life, thereby enhancing effectiveness, while improving patient quality of life.

The presentation will also highlight Novozymes’ innovative research into albumin and its receptor that saves it from the normal degradative pathway experienced by other plasma proteins. These advances in the production of albumin fusions have provided the basis for Novozymes’ next generation Albufuse®Flex technology built on the company’s original Albufuse platform, which enables the half-life of a drug to be tailored.

Dr. Dave Mead comments, “The BIO International Convention is the largest global event for the biotechnology industry and speakers at the event represent companies that are at the leading edge of their respective areas.

We are delighted to have been selected to speak at the BIO Business Forum and look forward to sharing insight into Novozymes’ recent innovations which pave the way for flexibility and efficiency to support manufacturers in developing novel drugs.”

For further information on Novozymes’ AlbufuseFlex technology or to request a copy of the new presentation, please visit www.biopharma.novozymes.com