Biocytogen Announces RenLite® Licensing Agreement with Janssen
8.3.2023 16:25:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals (Beijing) Co., Ltd. ("Biocytogen") (HKEX: 02315), today announced the signing of a non-exclusive license agreement with Janssen Biotech, Inc., one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (“Janssen”). Under the agreement, Biocytogen grants Janssen and its affiliates a non-exclusive worldwide license to use Biocytogen’s proprietary RenLite® platform and underlying intellectual property to discover, research, develop, manufacture and commercialize fully human antibody therapeutics with a common light chain and other biological therapeutics for an unlimited number of drug targets and indications. The agreement was facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC.
RenLite® is a member of Biocytogen's fully human antibody RenMice™ family. RenLite® mice can generate fully human antibody candidates with high specificity, affinity, diversity and good druggability, with a common light chain for subsequent assembly of bispecific and multispecific antibodies with a low mismatch and high success rate. The bispecific and multispecific antibodies assembled after RenLite® discovery have a traditional antibody structure and exhibit ideal physiochemical properties that are advantageous for downstream CMC development.
Dr. Yuelei Shen, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Biocytogen, said: “We are pleased to partner with Janssen to accelerate the discovery of new antibody-based drugs for patients.”
About RenMice™
RenMice™ are Biocytogen’s proprietary genetically modified mice that generate antibodies with fully human variable domains. The models, which include RenMab™, RenLite® and RenNano® mouse platforms, as well as substrains containing additional modifications, were developed using Biocytogen’s size-unlimited, precise chromosome engineering technology (SUPCE), which allows for in situ replacement of the murine immunoglobulin genes with their human counterpart. All RenMice platforms contain the entire human heavy chain VDJ loci, with the RenMab mouse harboring all human light chain VJ loci. In contrast, the RenLite mouse contains a single human VJ locus in situ to facilitate future bispecific antibody assembly, while the RenNano mouse has modified heavy chain constant regions to generate functional heavy-chain-only antibodies (HCAbs).
RenMice can generate robust immune response and produce fully human antibodies with great diversity, specificity, affinity and druggability. The development of RenMice has allowed Biocytogen to launch 6 fully human antibody discovery platforms: monoclonal antibody (RenMab), bispecific antibody and bispecific ADC (RenLite), nanobody (RenNano), TCR-mimic antibody for intracellular targets (HLA/RenMice, i.e., MHC humanized RenMice), and a RenMice HiTS (hyperimmune target specific) antibody platform designed for GPCR and other challenging targets.
As of June 30, 2022, RenMice have been licensed by 16 biopharmaceutical companies around the world, including Merck KGaA, Xencor, BeiGene, and Innovent.
About Biocytogen
Biocytogen (HKEX: 02315) is a global biotechnology company that drives the research and development of novel antibody-based drugs with innovative technologies. Using its proprietary RenMab™/RenLite®/RenNano® mice platforms for fully human monoclonal, bispecific/multispecific antibody and nanobody development, respectively, Biocytogen has integrated its in vivo drug efficacy screening platforms and strong clinical development expertise to streamline the entire drug development process. Biocytogen is undertaking a large-scale project to develop first-in-class and/or best-in-class antibody drugs for more than 1000 targets, known as Project Integrum. As of June 30, 2022, this project has resulted in 28 drug co-development agreements and 16 RenMice™ licensing agreements with companies around the world, including several partnerships with multinational pharmaceutical companies (MNCs). Biocytogen's internal pipeline includes 12 core products, among which two products are in phase II multi-regional clinical trials and two products are in phase I. Headquartered in Beijing, Biocytogen has branches in Haimen Jiangsu, Shanghai, Boston, USA and Heidelberg, Germany. For more information, please visit http://en.biocytogen.com.cn.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230308005504/en/
Contact information
Biocytogen’s Contacts
Antibody platforms and antibody assets: BD-Licensing@biocytogen.com
Media: pr@bbctg.com.cn
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
HAZAMA ANDO Becomes an Official Partner in Helical Fusion’s Commercial Fusion Initiative and Signs MoU Toward Construction of the Fusion Pilot Plant6.7.2026 09:40:00 EEST | Press release
Helical Fusion Co., Ltd. (“Helical Fusion”), a Japan-based fusion energy startup developing fusion power plants, and HAZAMA ANDO CORPORATION (“HAZAMA ANDO”), a long-established Japanese general contractor, today announced that HAZAMA ANDO has become an Official Partner in the Helix Program, Helical Fusion’s commercial fusion initiative. The two companies have also signed a memorandum of understanding (“MoU”) to collaborate toward the construction of Helix KANATA, Helical Fusion’s Fusion Pilot Plant targeted for the 2030s. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260706176052/en/ (L-R) Kazuhiko Kuniya (Representative Director and President, HAZAMA ANDO CORPORATION) and Takaya Taguchi (Co-Founder and CEO, Helical Fusion Co., Ltd.) at a press conference in Tokyo on July 6, 2026. Fusion energy has the potential to shift the foundation of energy from natural resources to advanced technology by reproducing, on Earth, the sam
Sofinnova Partners Announces Myricx Bio Agrees to Be Acquired by Novartis6.7.2026 08:15:00 EEST | Press release
Sofinnova Partners, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm, today announced that its portfolio company Myricx Bio (“Myricx”) has reached agreement to be acquired by Novartis, for up to $1.5 billion including $1.1 billion cash upfront plus potential milestone payments. This marks Sofinnova Partners' seventh exit in three years. Myricx Bio is a UK-headquartered transatlantic biotech company focused on the discovery and development of a novel class of payloads for antibody-drug conjugates. The company's platform is built around next-generation N-myristoyltransferase inhibitor (NMTi) payloads, a differentiated mechanism of action designed to address the narrow therapeutic windows and tolerability challenges that have limited earlier generations of ADCs, such as TOPO-1 and tubulin inhibitor payload classes. Myricx Bio's two lead ADC assets, directed towards the established targets B7-H3 and HER2, are designed to bring this differentiated approach to patients across a broad ra
Global New Material International Wins Technology Innovation Best Practice Award at Sino-European ESG Conference6.7.2026 06:59:00 EEST | Press release
Global New Material International Holdings Ltd. has received the Technology Innovation Best Practice Award at the Third Sino-European Corporate ESG Best Practice Conference recently in Mainz, Germany, in recognition of its efforts to advance sustainable development through material innovation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260705533555/en/ Thorsten Giehler (L), Director of the Economic, Social Development and Employment Division of The German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), delivered the award to Zhou Fangchao, Executive Director and Vice President of Global New Material International. The annual conference, initiated by the Chinese Consulate General in Frankfurt and jointly organized with Chinese and European partners, recognizes corporate best practices in environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. This year's event brought together government officials, business leaders and exper
Access Advance Welcomes Samsung and Sharp to the VVC Advance Patent Pool6.7.2026 03:00:00 EEST | Press release
Access Advance LLC today announced significant additions to the VVC Advance Patent Pool, including Samsung Electronics and Sharp Corporation joining as both Licensors and Licensees. The additions strengthen Access Advance's position in VVC licensing, bringing two of the world's largest video codec patent holders into the program on both sides of the license. "The growth we are seeing in VVC Advance reflects the broad range of industries and companies that are moving toward VVC as the next standard for video delivery," said Peter Moller, CEO of Access Advance. "Samsung and Sharp joining as both Licensors and Licensees is significant, but so is the participation of leading smartphone brands and the range of consumer electronics and technology companies now executing licenses. We are building a program that reflects where the video market is actually heading." The following companies have joined the VVC Advance Patent Pool as Licensees since the beginning of 2026: American Future Technolo
Kioxia and Sandisk Begin Production of 10th-Generation 3D Flash Memory Products at Kitakami Plant Fab23.7.2026 13:19:00 EEST | Press release
Kioxia Corporation, a subsidiary of Kioxia Holdings Corporation (TOKYO: 285A) and Sandisk Corporation (Nasdaq: SNDK) today announced the start of production for their 10th-generation 3D Flash memory technology at Fab2 (K2) at the Kitakami Plant in Iwate Prefecture in Japan. The milestone comes as the companies continue to drive meaningful, multi-year bit growth to address the strong demand for their innovative flash memory technology. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260702296115/en/ Unveiling ceremony for the K2 facility In conjunction with the start of production, the companies held an unveiling ceremony for the K2 facility. Opening in September 2025, the facility has produced the companies’ 8th-generation 3D flash memory products and will begin to scale production with the introduction of their 10th-generation products. Both generations of 3D flash memory adopt innovative CBA (CMOS directly Bonded to Array)
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom