ProBioGen and Merus Sign Deal on GlymaxX® ADCC Enhancement Technology

ProBioGen AG and Merus B.V. today announced that the companies have signed a non-exclusive commercial option and license agreement on ProBioGen’s GlymaxX® fucose-engineering technology. Under the terms of the agreement, ProBioGen is granting Merus the non-exclusive right to use the GlymaxX® technology to enhance the ADCC (Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity) activity of one of its lead products, a bispecific anti-cancer antibody. The license is covering clinical development and production. Financial details have not been disclosed.

The GlymaxX® technology for the production of afucosylated antibodies and proteins is based on the stable integration of a heterologous enzyme into any antibody producer cell line, leading to the interference with the cells’ intracellular fucose biosynthesis pathway. As a unique feature differentiating it from other approaches, the GlymaxX® technology can be applied to both novel and already existing antibody producer cell lines and entire antibody expression and discovery platforms without negatively affecting their productivity. Moreover, it is simple, rapid, potent and universally applicable.

Cancer Antibody Application
"We are very satisfied to see our GlymaxX technology being applied to Merus’ promising bispecific cancer antibody candidate. This underlines the superiority of our ADCC enhancement technology and its ability to deliver smart and flexible solutions for optimized biopharmaceutical products," commented Volker Sandig, Chief Scientific Officer of ProBioGen AG. “We are convinced that our GlymaxX technology will make a significant contribution to develop powerful new antibodies against any diseases in which enhanced ADCC activity translates into therapeutic benefit.”

ADCC Activity Improvement
“The GlymaxX technology substantially improves the ADCC activity of one of our lead bispecific antibodies for the treatment of solid tumors so that it further enhances the tumor cell killing capacity of an already very potent molecule,” said Mark Throsby, Chief Scientific Officer of Merus B.V.