iBio, Inc. today announced that it ha ®‌€s entered into the initial Statement∞ε of Work (“SOW1”) under its Memorandum of Underst"δ₩anding (“MOU”) with AzarGen÷₽★ Biotechnologies (Pty.) Ltd. (“AzaλεσrGen”).Following iBio’s su"™ccessful use of its technol♠→‌ogies and manufacturi↑₩ng capabilities to advance the development o≤≥∑≤f AzarGen’s surfactant protein th♥¥erapeutic through an ←ε≈initial assessment o' f production feasibility, in May ' 2017, the two companies expanded t‌ heir collaboration byε↕£← initiating the developm×₹♠ent of a plant-made rituximab for the South Afr$↑ican market under the MOU.P♦≠↓δursuant to the SOW1, iBio will ma§♦σnufacture research quantiγεties of a plant-made​‍₩ rituximab for AzarGen usi↓↕ng iBio’s proprietar™>↑y FastPharming™ System. F♠§ollowing batch production, the drug pro₩≈∑↓duct candidate will undergo testin₩→αg via iBio CDMO’s bioanalytical serv<★↕ices.“After demonstrating the ↔♦☆success of our platform through o§‌ur opening project with AzarGen, →₽we are now advancing to the next stage of the twφ✔>≠o companies’ collaboration,” commented Robert B≥★→. Kay, iBio’s Chairman and CEO. “We look foπ∑♣§rward to helping AzarGen develop a pla ¥‍nt-based, bio-similar rituximab product f♣  or the South African market.”“The early suc ®cess in combining iBio’s and Azar•×↔✔Gen's advanced genetic engineering and s∞♦‌ynthetic biology techniques in plants really " ®empowered us to evolve our business pl §Ωans and product priorities to initiate deve"↔ lopment of a biosimilar versioσ​®™n of rituximab,” said Dr. Mau•★→£ritz Venter, CEO of AzarGen. “As we continue t≠ o move toward the initiation of advanced pre-c"×linical activities, we aδ®∏re confident that iBio CDMO i" s ideally suited to provide us with the™λ± requisite long-term process develo∏‍✔•pment and cGMP manufacturing suppor✘‌≠​t. We are excited to take this import↔↓ant step forward in advancing this program. Foc& using on accessibility•α↕π and affordability of∞≤ biological medicine for the Af∑÷∏rican continent, we look forward to initia∏£✔ting additional projects with iBio as we progre≥×→ss.”Rituximab was first appro♣₩←γved by the U.S. Food and Drug A∑£dministration in 1997 for treatment ✘∏"of certain B cell non-H £odgkin lymphomas. Since that time, its clinical↕™≤♠ uses have expanded tε™o encompass treatment of chr₩β'onic lymphocytic leukemia, as w®Ωell as a range of autoimmune diseases, including<₹&© certain types of rhγ&eumatoid arthritis. Rituxima↔ ¶≥b has been placed on the World Health O←±÷rganization’s List of Essential Medi∏♥‌cines and it was ranked as one of the worφπld’s top-10 selling pharma&₩ ←ceuticals in 2018.2019 Asia-pacific pharma IP ↕<≈Leader Summit: http://en.zenseegroup.com/p/€≠404716/ will be held in&nb± •sp;Beijing  on Nov≠↔₩₩ember 14-15, and will attract ₽β₩more than 500 industry experts from domestic ♠λand foreign pharmaceutical co‍♦∑↔mpanies, biotechnolog∏☆↕​y companies, governmen←↕ts, associations, law firms,↔£×≠ intellectual property agents φ​× and other companies to attend.Official registrati↓×£on and consultation channels:Contac↑€t：AnnPhone: 021-65650305Email：Mar≤₩σ★keting@zenseegroup.comhttp://www.zenseegro§​€πup.com/forms/view/221☆↓13/