Collaboration to focus on developing bi-specific antibody therapeutics

Vancouver, BC – Biotechnology company Zymeworks has announced a research collaboration with Merck around Zymeworks’ proprietary platform for the development of novel bi-specific antibody therapeutic candidates. Bi-specific antibodies are designed to bind to two different drug targets for broad use in clinical applications such as oncology or autoimmune disease.

“We are delighted to establish a strategic collaboration with the exceptional biologics team at Merck to advance our revolutionary bi-specific antibody platform,” said Dr Ali Tehrani, Zymeworks’ CEO. “This is an important validation of our scientific leadership in the field of structure-guided protein engineering and we look forward to working with Merck to realizing the full value of this novel platform technology across a range of therapeutic indications.”

Under the terms of the agreement Zymeworks has granted Merck, through a subsidiary, a worldwide license to develop and commercialize bi-specific antibodies generated through use of its platform toward certain exclusive therapeutic targets. Both companies will collaborate to advance the technology platform, with Merck working to progress the bi-specific therapeutic antibody candidates through clinical development.

“Zymeworks’ technology platform has the potential to provide a unique solution for engineering novel antibodies,” said Richard Murray, Ph.D., senior vice president, biologics research at Merck. “At Merck, we continue to build upon our portfolio of novel technologies aimed at developing a new generation of biologic candidates designed to provide improved therapeutic properties.”