SAN FRANCISCO and FREISING, Germany, January 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Takeda San Francisco (TSF) and Pieris AG have signed a drug discovery partnership agreement under which Pieris will apply its Anticalin(R) scaffold technology to deliver protein therapeutic candidates to Takeda, both companies announced today. The deal initially will focus on first-in-class drug discovery efforts around a predetermined Takeda target. The collaboration includes an option for expansion following delivery of a successful candidate to Takeda, which would lead subsequent development and commercial efforts. Further deal terms and financial details were not disclosed.

"TSF's mandate is to lead Takeda's effort in the discovery and preclinical development of antibody-based therapeutics. Pieris' Anticalin technology complements our existing capabilities by enabling a novel approach to targets where differentiation from traditional antibodies is required," stated Dr. Mary Haak-Frendscho, President and CSO of TSF. "The technology provides unique features that made Pieris the obvious partner."

"Our agreement with Takeda demonstrates yet again that Anticalins can fill gaps left by more conventional technologies such as monoclonal antibodies," added Stephen Yoder, CEO of Pieris. "Pieris is committed to maintaining an effective balance between developing our internal therapeutic pipeline and collaborating with world-class organizations like Takeda."

Pieris' proprietary Anticalin technology platform creates next generation targeted therapeutics and addresses targets in ways that traditional methods cannot. Anticalins are recombinantly engineered lipocalins, endogenous low-molecular weight human proteins that naturally bind, store and transport a wide spectrum of molecules. To obtain a specific Anticalin, Pieris applies its deep protein engineering know-how to select drug candidates from its suite of rationally designed proprietary Anticalin libraries.