Merck KGaA subsidiary EMD Serono and Cambridge, MA-based Mersana Therapeutics have struck a collaborative deal to develop next-generation antibody-drug conjugates to treat cancer.
ADCs are made up of highly toxic anticancer drugs attached to an antibody, which target and shuttle drugs directly to cancer cells. Ideally, ADCs are meant to deliver higher levels of these drugs to tumors to increase a drug's effectiveness and lessen the possibility of killing healthy cells.
Under the agreement, Mersana and EMD Serono will carry out drug discovery and preclinical testing on a variety of ADCs using Mersana's Fleximer platform and several cytotoxic agents used for cancer treatment as conjugates. A 2012 Fierce 15 winner, Mersana's Fleximer antibody-drug conjugate platform and pipeline of small molecule Fleximer conjugates is intended to maximize the potential of new and existing therapeutic drugs.
"This new collaboration provides an exciting opportunity to expand our oncology drug discovery and development portfolio into the evolving ADC space," said Dr. Andree Blaukat, head of the Translational Innovation Platform Oncology at EMD Serono, in a statement.
Mersana is not new to partnering. It has existing relationships with Adimab, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Teva Pharmaceuticals ($TEVA) to advance the development of its technology.
EMD Serono will be responsible for clinical development and commercialization of any products that come out of the collaboration. Mersana will receive an upfront payment and can receive milestones plus royalties on sales from any drugs brought to the market. The companies did not disclose further financials of the deal.
- read the press release