Catalent Signs RL21 Anti-Cancer Development Deal with Pure MHC

Catalent announced that it has signed a product development agreement with immunology company Pure MHC (major histocompatibility complex), which specializes in MHC-based diagnostics and therapeutics.

Under the terms of the agreement, Catalent will develop a humanized version of Pure MHC’s proprietary RL21A antibody and engineer a cell line to express the antibody using Catalent’s GPEx technology. Catalent will subsequently produce purified monoclonal antibodies to support Pure MHC’s preclinical development in preparation for clinical trials with humanized RL21A for the treatment of cancer. GPEx technology is used to generate mammalian cells with high yields and stability, helping to speed drugs to clinic.


Pure MHC has developed a suite of MHC/ligand targets that recognize cancerous cells in addition to producing monoclonal antibodies for these distinct MHC/ligand cancer targets. Antibodies such as RL21A distinguish primary cancers from healthy tissue and, in animal models, have been shown to arrest tumor development.