BioWorld Today Contributing Writer

Oncobiologics Inc. is holding the official grand opening of its new 25,000 square-foot facility today. But things have already been moving pretty fast for the company in its first five months after launch.

Cranbury, N.J.-based Oncobiologics announced on Thursday morning that it had signed two agreements, which combined are worth about $80 million. One involves worldwide licensing of an undisclosed biotherapeutic for an unspecified amount to early stage biotech company Parilis Biopharmaceuticals, of Somerset, N.J. The other involves conducting research for an unnamed customer described by Oncobiologics as a large U.S.-based pharmaceutical company on issues related to downstream processing of monoclonal antibodies. Those details were not disclosed.

Jeremy Caudill, Oncobiologics' vice president of business development, told BioWorld Today that the deals validate the company's dual strategy of being an integrated biopharmaceutical company while also providing proof-of-concept services. The company said it has a pipeline of biotherapeutics focused on oncology, immuno-oncology and immunology. But it also is marketing turnkey proof-of-concept services that it said "can take a partner's preclinical candidates from chemistry, manufacture and control development all the way through Phase II."

The dual strategy approach represents a significant tweak from the way the company positioned itself as a "specialist in biologics proof-of-concept services" for biologic drugmakers with preclinical drug candidates when it launched at the 2011 BIO International Convention in Washington.

Caudill said that changed several months later. The original thinking, he said, was that it would take much longer for the company to get molecules for its pipeline, and in the meantime the proof-of-concept work would provide funding. "What we found was that the discovery program advanced much more quickly than we expected," Caudill said.

The breakthrough came in late August, when Oncobiologics announced a collaboration with Philadelphia's Fox Chase Cancer Center to co-develop a next-generation, bi-specific antibody cancer platform to target multiple solid tumors. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The company said that the platform integrates intellectual property originated by Oncobiologics and Fox Chase, adding that the organizations expect to partner with established pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies to commercialize candidates resulting from the platform. Preclinical studies are expected to begin early next year for the first molecule using the platform. Oncobiologics and Fox Chase said they are actively seeking co-development partners.

Oncobiologics' pipeline currently lists nine drugs: six oncology candidates for treatment of breast, head, neck, ovarian, gastric, pancreatic, colon, bladder, kidney, liver, uterine, cervical and sold tumors; a bispecific immuno-oncology drug for all cancers; and two immunology drugs for Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and psoriasis.

Caudill said the company is close to completing its Series A funding and anticipates having enough money to take it through the next two to three years. Funds have come from a combination of bank loans, investments by listed companies and high net-worth individuals, and government grants from organizations such as the federal Small Business Administration, New Jersey's Small Business Development Council and a $250,000 federal Qualified Therapeutic Discovery Project grant.

The company currently has about 25 employees, but Caudill anticipates that number will grow to about 60 by the second half of 2012.

The company was founded by CEO Pankaj Mohan, who during the previous 20 years worked at Genentech Inc., Eli Lilly and Co. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Inc.