The Netherlands' arGEN-X has paired up with Bayer, agreeing to share its proprietary antibody technology with the drug giant to fuel some early-stage R&D.
Under the agreement, arGEN-X will bank an undisclosed upfront fee plus milestone payments linked to future clinical and commercial successes, and Bayer will pick up the tab for research. Using arGEN-X's Simple Antibody platform, the two will work together on validating human antibody leads in preclinical models, spanning multiple therapeutic areas.
For arGEN-X, the deal follows similar collaborations with Shire ($SHPG) and Eli Lilly ($LLY), agreements that hinged on the promise of the biotech's discovery platform. Simple Antibody's core technology is based on the immune system of llamas, a platform arGEN-X says beats out traditional transgenic mouse models in churning out antibodies that match variable genes in humans.
"As a company, we are dedicated to forming elite partnerships and feel that with this new collaboration, we have firmly established Simple Antibody as an innovative solution to reaching intractable targets and tackling unmet needs in antibody discovery," arGEN-X CEO Tim Van Hauwermeiren said in a statement. "We are confident that by building on our proprietary capabilities in DNA immunization and the unique immune system of the llama, we have developed a novel platform that will create potential new product opportunities."
Beyond its revenue-generating potential for partners, Simple Antibody is the heart of arGEN-X's proprietary pipeline, which includes the midstage cancer treatment ARGX-110, the Phase I tumor therapy ARGX-111 and a slate of preclinical candidates.
- read the statement