Affitech AS

About Affitech AS

Affitech AS was a biotechnology firm established in 1997 by a group of Norwegian and German scientists, including Michael Braunagel and Melvyn Little. The company's inception was rooted in an exclusive license to commercialize the phagemid antibody display system, a technology originating from the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg. This foundation positioned Affitech to pursue its mission of discovering and developing proprietary human antibody-based therapeutics for significant medical needs, with a particular focus on oncology and inflammatory diseases.

The company's core business revolved around its antibody discovery platforms. A key asset was its proprietary phage display human antibody library, which contained an extensive diversity of functional human genes, facilitating the detection of effective antibodies against specific protein targets. Affitech developed two primary discovery technologies: Molecule Based Antibody Discovery (MBAS), a high-throughput screening system, and Cell-Based Antibody Selection (CBAS), which allowed for the isolation of antibodies for cell surface molecules. Its business model involved leveraging these technologies to build a pipeline of antibody candidates, which would then be advanced through co-development partnerships with other biotech and pharmaceutical companies. This strategy was evident in collaborations with partners like Roche, Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, and the Russian firm IBC Generium.

Throughout its history, Affitech underwent several significant corporate transformations. In 2009, the private Oslo-based research company merged with Pharmexa A/S, a publicly-listed Danish firm, to create a new, integrated entity named Affitech A/S, which was traded on the NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen exchange. This merger combined Affitech's antibody discovery expertise with Pharmexa's drug development infrastructure. The company secured funding from various investors, including Teknoinvest, Ferd, and Trans Nova Investments. However, after facing financial challenges, Affitech was eventually delisted from the stock exchange around 2012 following a takeover by its majority shareholder, Trans Nova Investments, and subsequently ceased operations.