SAN DIEGO, Jan. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (STI; OTCBB: SRNE) today announced that it has acquired worldwide rights that will allow for the application of STI’s industry leading antibody library technology for the production of recombinant Intravenous immunoglobulins (rIVIG). Global sales of IVIG products exceeded $5 billion in 2012 and are projected to grow for the foreseeable future.

“With the acquisition of the proprietary rights to the rIVIG technology, we now have access to a multi-billion dollar market opportunity applying our G-MAB antibody libraries to address unmet medical needs,” said Henry Ji, Ph.D., President & Chief Executive Officer of STI.

“Partnering our rIVIG invention with STI’s unique G-MAB technology may produce novel and highly differentiated IVIG products,” adds Dr. Tien Lee, M.D., one of the co-inventors of the rIVIG technology.

About IVIG
IVIG assists in the treatment of medical conditions in several broad categories including primary and secondary immunological deficiencies, autoimmune diseases, and acute infections. The wide range of specific applications currently include immune-mediated ITP, Guillain Barr syndrome, Kawasaki disease, allogeneic bone marrow transplants, CIDP, CLL, as well as a spectrum of off-label uses including multiple sclerosis, factor resistant hemophilias, myasthenia gravis, and many others. IVIG is also being investigated for use in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological conditions.

Currently, IVIG preparations are derived from human donor blood products pooled from over 1,000 healthy individuals. However, increasing demand for IVIG products already exceeds available supply worldwide, limiting broader clinical applications. The use of STI’s proprietary G-MAB library technology for the production of rIVIG may circumvent many disadvantages and obstacles currently encumbering IVIG preparations, such as potential supply constraint, costly production due to fractionation, purification and quality control challenges. Potential advantages of rIVIG include reduced batch-to-batch inconsistencies, minimal contamination risk, increased potency, and no need for continued human blood donor supply.

About Sorrento Therapeutics
Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. is a development-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel and proprietary biotherapeutics for the treatment of a variety of disease conditions, including cancer, inflammation, metabolic and infectious diseases. The Company’s objective is to identify drug development candidates derived from its proprietary human antibody libraries and either independently or through one or more partnerships with pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical organizations, advance selected targets into preclinical or clinical development activities. In 2012, the Company identified and further developed a number of potential drug product candidates across various therapeutic areas, and intend to select several lead product candidates to progress into preclinical development activities in 2013. More information is available at www.sorrentotherapeutics.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements include statements about Sorrento Therapeutics’ metabolic disease program and its prospects, whether the Company’s development of antibody therapeutics targeting metabolic diseases holds great clinical promise and the Company’s potential development of human antibody therapeutics. Risks and uncertainties include whether Sorrento Therapeutics will have sufficient resources to develop antibody therapeutics and additional risks set forth in Sorrento Therapeutics’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements represent Sorrento Therapeutics’ judgment as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.