MAIMONIDEX, ABMAXIS TEAM ON RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS THERAPY

Abmaxis Inc., a privately held Santa Clara-based biopharmaceutical company, and MaimoniDex RA Ltd., a Jerusalem-based biotechnology company, announced today that they have signed an agreement to jointly develop a therapeutic human monoclonal antibody for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other inflammatory diseases. MaimoniDex focuses on the treatment of RA with disease specific anti-CD44 monoclonal antibodies. Based on its discovery of a disease-causing molecule found only in the joints of RA patients, MaimoniDex has developed a murine monoclonal antibody that has shown bioactivities both in vitro and in vivo.

Globes (http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/DocView.asp?did=1000014538&fid=1725)