Cambridge Antibody Technology
Cambridge Antibody Technology (officially Cambridge Antibody Technology Group Plc, informally CAT) was a biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom. Its core focus was on antibody therapeutics, primarily using Phage Display and Ribosome Display technology.
| Company type | Public limited company |
|---|---|
Traded as | LSE: CAT Nasdaq: CATG |
| Industry | Biopharmaceutical |
| Founded | 1989 (Daly Laboratories, Babraham) |
| Founder | David Chiswell, Sir Greg Winter, John McCafferty, Medical Research Council |
| Defunct | 2007 |
| Fate | Acquired by AstraZeneca in 2006; combined with MedImmune in 2007 |
| Successor | MedImmune |
| Headquarters | Granta Park, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | David Chiswell (CEO 1996–2002) Peter Chambré (CEO 2003–2006) |
| Products | Adalimumab, discovery of; belimumab discovery of |
| Services | Therapeutic monoclonal antibody discovery and development |
| Revenue | £172.50m (six months ending 31 March 2006*) |
| £147.25m (six months ending 31 March 2006*) | |
Net income | £25.25m (six months ending 31 March 2006*) |
| Total assets | £215.98m (six months ending 31 March 2006*) |
| Total equity | £180.97m (six months ending 31 March 2006*) |
| Owner | AstraZeneca |
Number of employees | Approximately 300 (2006) |
| Footnotes / references *Financials for six-month period prior to acquisition by AstraZeneca were distorted by the settlement for royalties payable on Adalimumab sales | |
Phage Display Technology was used by CAT to create adalimumab, the first fully human antibody blockbuster drug. Humira, the brand name of adalimumab, is an anti-TNF antibody discovered by CAT as D2E7, then developed in the clinic and marketed by Abbvie, formerly Abbott Laboratories. CAT was also behind belimumab, the anti-BlyS antibody drug marketed as Benlysta and the first new approved drug for systemic lupus in more than 50 years. In 2018, the Nobel Prize organisation awarded one quarter of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to a founding member of CAT, Sir Greg Winter FRS "for the phage display of peptides and antibodies.".
Founded in 1989, CAT was acquired by AstraZeneca for £702m in 2006. AstraZeneca subsequently acquired MedImmune LLC, which it combined with CAT to form a global biologics R&D division called MedImmune. CAT was often described as the 'jewel in the crown' of the British biotechnology industry and during the latter years of its existence was the subject of frequent acquisition speculation.