Dyax partners with Australian research agency

Dyax Corp., a Cambridge biopharmaceutical company, and Australia's national scientific research agency said today they have entered a collaboration for the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies to treat cancer.

During the discovery phase of the collaboration, Dyax said it will use its proprietary antibody libraries to screen for clinical candidates, and the division of molecular and health technologies at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, or CSIRO, will provide reagents and in vitro assays, as well as certain in vivo and preclinical development work.

"We are pleased to have entered into this collaboration with CSIRO and are confident that Dyax's antibody libraries will again produce first quality clinical leads that may provide a novel approach to treating cancer," Dyax chairman and chief executive Henry E. Blair said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)