ABIONYX Pharma, a next-generation biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies for sepsis and critical care based on a proprietary apoA-I technology platform, announced a strategic manufacturing partnership with OLON, a global contract development and manufacturing organization, to support the next stage of development and commercialization of CER-001.
The announcement came from Toulouse, France, and Fullerton, California, on October 7, 2026.
Initial Focus on Validation Batches and Future Supply Capabilities
The collaboration will initially focus on the production of two validation batches of CER-001, described as a key manufacturing milestone in ABIONYX's regulatory strategy for LCAT deficiency.
Beyond the validation work, the partnership is also intended to establish the industrial capabilities required for future commercial supply, subject to regulatory approval.
Manufacturing across two French sites
Manufacturing activities under the partnership will be carried out across two OLON sites in France. ABIONYX will be involved at two critical stages of the process: the upstream cell-culture production of recombinant human apoA-I and, following purification, the complexation of apoA-I with phospholipids to form CER-001, followed by Fill and Finish.
The partnership therefore extends beyond the production of the validation batches. The two companies are putting in place a manufacturing framework designed to support CER-001 through potential market entry and subsequent commercial scale-up, establishing an integrated framework to carry the biologic from regulatory validation through potential commercial supply.
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A distinctive manufacturing challenge
CER-001 presents what the companies describe as a distinctive manufacturing challenge. Unlike approaches based on short apoA-I-derived peptides, CER-001 incorporates full-length recombinant human apoA-I, a 243-amino-acid protein, which is subsequently assembled with specific phospholipids to form a biomimetic HDL particle.
Producing the protein is only one part of the process. Manufacturing CER-001 also requires the reproducible assembly of apoA-I and phospholipids into a homogeneous and stable biological particle with the required pharmaceutical characteristics.
This complexity is closely linked to the design of the product. By retaining full-length apoA-I within an HDL-like particle, CER-001 is designed to reproduce key structural and functional properties of naturally occurring nascent HDL and to enable biological activity throughout the circulation.
ABIONYX has built considerable manufacturing experience around CER-001 over the course of its development.
According to the company, the process, together with its intellectual property and accumulated manufacturing know-how, represents an important part of the asset's differentiation and creates a meaningful technological barrier to replication.
The partnership with OLON is intended to translate that experience into a robust, reproducible and scalable manufacturing process suitable for potential commercial supply.
Designed beyond validation
The immediate objective of the collaboration is the successful manufacture of the two validation batches. The longer-term objective is to ensure that, if CER-001 receives regulatory approval, the manufacturing infrastructure and capabilities required to supply the market are already in place.
With this partnership, ABIONYX is moving beyond manufacturing CER-001 solely for clinical development and beginning to establish the infrastructure required for potential commercialization.
The two validation batches provide the immediate milestone, while the stated strategic objective is a scalable manufacturing platform capable of supporting CER-001 from a potential first market entry in LCAT deficiency to a substantially broader opportunity in sepsis.
Leadership perspectives
Cyrille Tupin, Chief Executive Officer of ABIONYX Pharma, commented on the complexity of the biologic and the significance of the partnership.
"CER-001 is a demanding biologic to manufacture," Tupin said.
"We produce the full-length, 243-amino-acid human apoA-I protein and then assemble it with specific phospholipids into a biomimetic HDL particle. Building a reliable and scalable process around that complexity has taken years of development and know-how. Thanks to OLON, we are now putting that manufacturing capability in place for the next stage of CER-001: first through our regulatory strategy in LCAT deficiency and, in parallel, through Phase 2b development in sepsis."
Andrea Conforto, M&S VP CDMO Biotech at OLON, emphasized the breadth of expertise the collaboration draws upon.
"Our work with ABIONYX brings together several areas of OLON's biomanufacturing expertise, from the upstream production of a full-length recombinant protein to the complexation of apoA-I with phospholipids and Fill and Finish," Conforto said.
"The validation batches represent an important first milestone, but the manufacturing strategy has been designed from the outset with the longer-term requirements of CER-001 in mind. The program reflects our ability to manage complex biologics manufacturing processes and to support innovative products as they progress from clinical development towards potential commercial supply."
One platform supporting two development paths
According to the announcement, the investment in manufacturing also supports ABIONYX's broader strategy, with a single manufacturing platform intended to serve two development paths.
The first is the company's regulatory strategy in LCAT deficiency, where the two validation batches constitute a key milestone.
The second is the ongoing Phase 2b development of CER-001 in sepsis, for which the partnership includes provisions for commercial production.
ABIONYX Pharma is listed under ticker ABNX.PA, with ISIN FR0012616852, and its shares are eligible for the PEA PME. The company describes itself as developing innovative therapies for sepsis and critical care based on a proprietary apoA-I technology platform.
The announcement of the partnership arrives as ABIONYX prepares CER-001 for the transition from development to market.
With manufacturing activities spanning upstream cell-culture production, complexation, and Fill and Finish across OLON's French sites, the company is positioning itself to move CER-001 from clinical-stage manufacturing toward the industrial capabilities that would be needed if the biologic secures regulatory approval, first in LCAT deficiency and, in parallel, in the larger sepsis indication currently in Phase 2b development.
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