Boston BioCom Announces Production of First HSP-Avidin Fusion Proteins for its Jantibody Therapeutics Subsidiary in Collaborative Research Program with Pfenex Inc

BOSTON--(Business Wire)--
Boston BioCom LLC today announced the successful completion of a collaborative
research agreement between its Jantibody Therapeutics LLC subsidiary and Pfenex
Inc., resulting in the rapid production of a HSP-avidin fusion protein for the
Jantibodies self-assembling vaccines platform. Jantibody Therapeutics was
created by Boston BioCom to commercialize a novel class of
immunologically-enhanced monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that utilize heat shock
protein 70 (HSP 70) for initial applications in oncology and infectious
diseases, as well as a self-assembling HSP vaccine platform that can be used to
enhance the effectiveness of existing mAbs and to readily generate cancer
vaccines as well as vaccines for emerging infectious diseases.

Under the terms of the agreement, Pfenex applied its Pfēnex Expression
Technology platform to produce initial amounts of HSP-avidin fusion protein for
the Jantibodies platform. The Pfenex technology utilizes an extensive toolbox of
engineered host strains and expression elements derived from Pseudomonas
fluorescens bacteria to rapidly screen and identify a production strain
producing soluble, active protein. This collaboration was funded through a
Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) contract award.

"Through this constructive collaboration with Pfenex, Jantibody Therapeutics has
made another important step in advancing its technology platform into products
that could potentially treat infections or cancers," said Jeffrey Gelfand,
Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Boston BioCom. "Targeted monoclonal
antibodies and therapeutic vaccines for oncology both represent large and
rapidly growing market segments, and we are taking advantage of this opportunity
with an innovative approach that may significantly improve upon existing mAbs
and cancer vaccines, particularly related to the scale and range of immune
response that they can achieve."

"This project with Jantibody Therapeutics demonstrates that the Pfēnex
Expression Technology platform supports the rapid advancement of high-quality
proteins for our partners to use in applications such as vaccines," said Charles
H. Squires, Ph.D., Vice President of Discovery and Partnerships of Pfenex Inc.
"Our success with the Jantibodies platform, in addition to the validation
provided by our DTRA funding, establishes Pfenex as a preferred provider of
rapid protein production to drug discovery and development companies."

About the Jantibodies Technology Platform

The Jantibodies platform is based on the unique immunogenic properties of heat
shock proteins (HSPs), intracellular signaling molecules that generate a
powerful cytotoxic immune response. The products of this platform are novel
therapeutic antibodies and vaccines that are initially being developed against a
broad range of cancers. These breakthroughs are a result of the integration of
technology platforms developed at the Massachusetts General Hospital, which has
licensed these discoveries to Jantibody Therapeutics.

The first application of the Jantibodies platform is a novel class of
therapeutic antibodies that utilize HSP 70 fused to monoclonal antibodies or
antibody fragments. The HSP unit is linked with the single chain variable
fragment (antibody binding site fragments) of a monoclonal antibody against a
therapeutic target, such as a tumor cell receptor. The single chain variable
fragment of the fusion attaches to the target, while the HSP 70 portion triggers
a humoral and cell-mediated immune response that may be highly effective in
treating solid tumor cancers.

The second application of this platform is a new class of proteins called
"self-assembling vaccines," which contain fusion proteins of HSP with avidin.
Avidin is a biological molecule that binds with extremely high affinity to the
small molecule biotin. These fusions, produced in advance, can be rapidly
combined with practically any antigen or antibody fragment labeled with biotin,
and form a complex that will strongly increase immunogenic properties of the
antigen and the immune response to the antigen.

About Boston BioCom LLC

Boston BioCom is a biomedical technology commercialization company created to
earn a superior return for its investors by actively developing and managing a
hand-picked portfolio of biomedical innovations towards optimal commercial
endpoints. The company brings together preeminent academic expertise,
industry-leading pharmaceutical capabilities, and a highly experienced
management team to create value from an extraordinary flow of technology
opportunities. www.boston-bio.com

About Pfenex Inc.

Pfenex Inc. is a protein production company leveraging the unique and powerful
Pfēnex Expression Technology platform based on the microorganism, Pseudomonas
fluorescens, for the production of research proteins, reagent proteins,
biosimilars and innovator biopharmaceuticals. For more information please visit
www.pfenex.com.

Boston BioCom LLC
Frank A. Dinucci, 617-830-1600 x251
President and CEO
fdinucci@boston-bio.com
or
MacDougall Biomedical Communications
Kari Watson, 781-235-3060
kwatson@macbiocom.com
or
Pfenex Inc.
Patrick Lucy, 978-887-4971
Vice President, Business Development
pkl@pfenex.com

Copyright Business Wire 2010