Vaccinex provides update on ActivMAb platform

Vaccinex (VCNX) announced the signing of several proprietary project agreements with Amgen, Merck, Chugai, Absci, Gigagen, Merus, Soleil, ThirdArc and Incyte, employing Vaccinex’s ActivMAb technology to generate antibodies to complex antigen targets. In addition, Vaccinex has signed agreements to provide Charles River Labs, OmniAb, Adimab and other undisclosed strategic partners with materials to facilitate their antibody discovery programs using transgenic animal species for immunization or very large synthetic antibody libraries. The financial terms of the agreements are undisclosed. Vaccinex’s proprietary ActivMAb Technology enables expression of functional, properly folded complex proteins such as GPCRs and Ion Channels on the relatively simple membrane of poxvirus providing a source of antigen for various antibody discovery strategies. These strategies may involve development of antibody and antibody-based immunotherapies including bi-specifics, antibody drug conjugates, CAR-T cells, T cell engagers, etc. “Our technology is a powerful component of antibody discovery strategies targeting complex membrane proteins and enables both our own R&D efforts and those of our partners,” said Ernest Smith, Chief Scientific Officer of Vaccinex. “These agreements and partnerships with established companies underscore ActivMAb’s unique ability to address previously hard to drug targets in a format ideally suited for antibody discovery.”