Winner of AbbVie Scandinavia's Golden Ticket Announced

Lund Sweden – AAX Biotech has been named the winner of the first AbbVie Scandinavia Golden Ticket launched in collaboration with SmiLe. AAX Biotech, a research-driven biotechnology company from Karolinska Institutet Innovations, offers innovative, in-house developed technologies for manufacturing better and more effective antibody-based drugs across multiple therapy areas.

AbbVie Scandinavia's Golden Ticket program is designed to assist a promising startup in commercializing its innovative drug research in one of AbbVie's key areas: oncology, neuroscience, immunology, ophthalmology, and aesthetics.

The Golden Ticket call attracted a large number of applicants, and following thorough evaluation, the jury ultimately selected AAX Biotech AB as the winner. The company is developing two unique platform technologies: Seqitope™ and Opti-mAb™. Seqitope is a new high-resolution, fast, and efficient method for determining precisely where antibodies bind to their target protein, accelerating the development of new antibodies. The method can be used in the development of drugs for the treatment of conditions such as cancer and autoimmune diseases. Opti-mAb is a method for stabilizing antibodies for better therapeutic effect. This is of great value in the development of therapeutic bi-specific antibodies and new cell-based cancer treatments like CAR-T, as well as in diagnostics. In addition to this, the method contributes to more efficient production and a more homogeneous product, which can lead to fewer side effects during clinical use.

"We are incredibly happy and inspired to receive so many applications for our first Golden Ticket initiative in Scandinavia," says Matthew Iles, CEO of AbbVie Scandinavia. "We are even happier to announce the winner today, AAX Biotech, whom we have chosen with great care as we believe they have a unique and promising solution that can create value for even more patients in the future," Matthew states.

"We are very proud to be part of presenting the winner of AbbVie's first Scandinavian Golden Ticket. AAX Biotech works in an exciting and rapidly growing area where their technologies have great potential to contribute to the development of future antibody-based drugs. We welcome the company to SmiLe and look forward to supporting them for a year with our expertise and infrastructure," says Ebba Fåhraeus, CEO of SmiLe.

As part of the Golden Ticket program, AAX Biotech will now have one year of access to:

- Laboratory space, funded by AbbVie, with access to research and office facilities and services provided by SmiLe on-site in Lund.
- Mentorship and business coaching from SmiLe throughout the year.
- Tailored support from AbbVie's international researchers and mentors.
- Exclusive access to AbbVie and SmiLe networks throughout the year with potential for future collaboration.

"We are incredibly pleased to have been awarded the AbbVie Scandinavia Golden Ticket and for the opportunity to access SmiLe. This recognition strengthens our commitment to innovation and challenging the boundaries within the biotechnology field. Thanks to this support, we look forward to significantly accelerating the development of next-generation antibody drugs. Our goal is to meet today's unmet medical needs and thereby improve treatment methods and patients' quality of life," says Maria Knudsen, CEO of AAX Biotech.


For more information, contact:
Ebba Fåhraeus, CEO SmiLe, tel: + 46 73 400 04 33, e-mail: ebba@smileincubator.life
Theresia Bredenwall, External Affairs Director Scandinavia, AbbVie, tel: +46 72 718 32 23, e-mail: Theresia.bredenwall@abbvie.com

Background: AbbVie Golden Ticket
The AbbVie Golden Ticket program started in the US in 2018 to support innovative early-stage biotech companies in their efforts to develop new treatments. Golden Ticket programs have been launched around the world, including in Heidelberg, London, Boston, Cambridge, Chicago and San Francisco/Silicon Valley.

The Golden Ticket program with SmiLe in Sweden is a natural extension of the company’s business development: to collaborate with different players in society in order to create good health and well-being by providing financing, mentorship and scientific expertise at an early phase of a company’s research and development. Golden Ticket also demonstrates AbbVie’s dedication to creating a dynamic and thriving life science industry.

About AAX Biotech AB
AAX Biotech AB is a biotech company specializing in next-generation antibody therapeutics. The company offers two unique and proprietary technologies, Seqitope™ and Opti-mAb™, that enable high throughput and high-resolution epitope mapping as well as stabilization of single chain variable fragments (scFv) for applications such as bispecific antibodies and CAR-T cells. Both technologies aim to produce better and more effective antibody-based medicines. These innovations position AAX Biotech as a key player in the rapidly growing antibody therapeutics market. AAX Biotech is founded by experts from Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. Visit aaxbiotech.com to learn more and follow AAX Biotech on LinkedIn.

About AbbVie
AbbVie is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that develops innovative therapies for the toughest illnesses. Our focus areas are immunology, neurology, oncology and eye diseases. We are in 175 countries and have approximately 50,000 employees. In Scandinavia, we have approximately 330 employees, with offices in Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen. In all three Scandinavian countries, we are ranked among the best workplaces by Great Place to Work. Visit us at www.abbvie.se, Facebook@AbbVieSverige, and X@abbvie_se.

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