Merck Serono and Sutro Biopharma, San Francisco, a bio-pharmaceutical company developing antibody drug conjugates and bispecific antibodies, announced a collaboration and license agreement to develop antibody drug conjugates (ADCs).
The collaboration will allow Merck Serono to take advantage of Sutro’s technology platforms in its oncology programmes to develop ADCs for multiple undisclosed targets. Under the terms of the agreement, Sutro and Merck Serono will collaborate to discover and develop multiple ADCs utilising Sutro’s cell-free protein synthesis platforms, Xpress CF and Xpress CF+. Sutro will be responsible for delivering ADCs for phase I clinical trials. Merck Serono will be responsible for clinical development and commercialisation of any resulting products.
Both companies believe that ADCs have the potential for directly targeting cancer cells while safeguarding healthy tissue, and will combine Merck Serono’s knowledge about target biology with Sutro’s technological and discovery capabilities to jointly develop ADCs.
EP News Bureau – Mumbai