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A sweet deal
May 2013
EDIT CONNECT
SHARING OPTIONS:
SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Agilent
Technologies Inc. and Chungnam
National University of Daejeon, South Korea, will establish an education center
to embark on new initiatives to develop
advanced workflows for analyzing
biopharmaceuticals and biosimilars. The joint R&D center will provide
training in glycan analysis throughout the
Asia-Pacific region.
The collaboration is especially aimed to further research in
glycomics, the
study of complex sugars. The program, which is expected to last
at least three years and could continue indefinitely, is designed to develop
biomarkers
and new therapeutic antibodies to combat diseases such as cancer.
Building on an earlier
collaboration, Agilent—a worldwide
provider of measurement technology for chemical analysis, life sciences,
diagnostics, electronics and
communications—and Chungnam National University's
Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology (GRAST) will establish the
Asia Glycomics
Education Center to support collaborative university/industry
education and cross-training. The university will develop and administer
training
programs for various methods of glycan analysis, which will be made
available without charge to scientists and researchers endorsed by Agilent in
South
Korea and the South Asia-Pacific region.
The program will develop novel advanced workflows for the
analysis of
biopharmaceuticals and biosimilars with a focus on glycan profiling
and analysis using the Agilent HPLC-Chip/MS systems, according to Dr. Rudolf
Grimm,
Agilent's director of science and technology and manager of collaborations
in the Asia-Pacific region.
"The majority of biopharmaceuticals and biosimilars are
glycoproteins, and hence, glycan profiling is essential to show batch-to-batch
reproducibility as well as proving that no antigenic glycan structures are
present in those glycoprotein drugs like monoclonal antibodies or
erythropoietins," he explains.
For biosimilars, glycan profiling and analysis are
essential,
as the profile needs to be very similar to the originator drugs,
Grimm adds. As he explains, "another key purpose of the collaboration is to
develop
hands-on training courses for glycan analysis not only for Korean
pharmaceutical customers, but also for customers in southeast Asia and other
parts of
the world. A first training course has been delivered already with
representatives from all major Korean biopharma companies being present,
including
KFDA, who just recently acquired a first Agilent HPLC-Chip/MS
system."
Chungnam University president
Sang-Chul Jung says, "Since we
first started collaborating with Agilent in 2011, our university has enjoyed
access to the latest analytical and
scientific technologies for research in
glycomics. Our highly talented team at GRAST, led by Prof. Hyun-Joo An, has
made a number of significant
findings, which have been shared with the global
scientific community through papers and speaking engagements. This lives up to
our university's
motto—'Creativity, development and service to the
community'—and we are pleased to further this collaboration with Agilent."
Rod Minett, general manager of Agilent's Life Sciences group
in South Korea and the South Asia-Pacific region, adds,
"in science, discovery
is a long and arduous road dependent on the best people, process and
technology. For this collaboration with Chungnam National
University, we are
going into the next phase of our journey to develop and enhance the biosimilars
industry, which will help scientists develop new
treatments to cure or prevent
diseases."
Grimm explains that collaborative research between Agilent
and leading academic researchers worldwide serves as the company's means of
giving back to communities in which it does business. At the Asia
Glycomics
Education Center, Agilent will install a state-of-the-art Agilent 6540
Quadrupole Time-of-Flight with Chip/2D nanoHPLC system to develop
novel
applications or analytical methods in the field of glycomics and
glycoproteomics.
"Around the world, we have seen greater interest among
scientists and researchers in the area of glycomic research," says An, who
heads the Asia
Glycomics Education Center. "Through our research, we are often
pushing the frontiers of science and the capabilities of our analytical
instruments.
We are thrilled to continue this partnership with Agilent."
"This is an important next-step for both
Agilent and
Chungnam National University as we continue to build talent and drive
innovations and discoveries in the field of glycomics using
industry-leading
analytical solutions," says Grimm. "Because of it, we hope to become a new
important player in the biopharmaceutical/biosimilar
business around the world
and increase our market share in this business field significantly."
He
concludes, "we hope to establish novel, faster, more
sensitive analytical workflows with higher resolution for biopharmaceuticals and
biosimilars,
especially for glycan profiling and analysis around the world and
to provide educational training courses for customers around the world. We want
Agilent to become a leading consultant for pharma companies that decide to go
into the biosimilar business." Code: E051319 Back |
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