UK spin-out spins back

Picture courtesy Aeres Biomedical

Aeres Biomedical Ltd was set up in 1999 to commercialise work carried out by the MRC's Antibody Engineering Group. As an independent company it worked with a number of pharmaceutical and biotech companies to humanise antibodies and claims to have produced eight clinical candidates and to be responsible for two approved antibody-based drugs.

Now it is being taken back in house as the Therapeutic Antibody Group, (TAG) to work on drug targets discovered by MRC-funded researchers.

The move is part of a shift in the MRC's scientific strategy in which it aims to speed up the rate at which the research it funds generates health benefits. The council has decided its best chance of doing this is not to outlicense research as soon as possible, but to keep it in house and nurture it to a more advanced stage, when it will be more attractive to licensees.

As part of this strategy the MRC's spending on clinical research will rise from £127 million in 2005 to £162 million in 2007–2008. At the same time more emphasis will be placed on translational research to progress basic research into new treatments.

While Aeres Biomedical made a living by providing antibody humanisation services for other companies, it did not succeed in raising the venture capital needed to develop an in house portfolio.

In its new incarnation, TAG will form part of the MRC’s Drug Discovery Group, established in 2005 to provide pharmaceutical style medicinal chemistry expertise and create an engine for translating MRC targets and biology into lead molecules ready for licensing to industry.

"As Aeres, we weren’t as successful as we wanted to be," says Tarran Jones, formerly CEO of Aeres and now Director of TAG. "The MRC wanted to use our expertise in the Drug Discovery Group. Going back within the MRC fold is a great opportunity to get involved in drug development, which was the whole reason for setting up Aeres. Now we get the chance to develop our own products."

Jones is satisfied that Aeres has paid its way for six years. All the staff are transferring back to the MRC, though Aeres' existing contracts will be completed.

"In its time Aeres accrued a lot of partnerships and other interests, including products in clinical development. There is an upside for shareholders, for staff and for the MRC," he said.