OcellO announced it entered an agreement to provide in vitro research services to Merus, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing innovative bispecific antibody therapeutics, for Merus’ MCLA-158 Biclonics® program and other undisclosed Biclonics® discovery programs.
Pursuant to the agreement, OcellO will provide €1 million of in vitro research services to Merus over a period of two years. OcellO will also utilize its 3D immune-oncology co-culture screening technology to support other undisclosed Merus Biclonics® discovery programs.
Merus is developing MCLA-158 in Phase 1 in patients with solid tumors with an initial focus on metastatic colorectal cancer. MCLA-158 is designed to bind to cancer stem cells expressing leucine-rich repeat-containing G protein-coupled receptor 5 (Lgr5) and epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR). “With this new commitment, Merus looks forward to extending its long-standing productive relationship with the OcellO team,” said Mark Throsby, CSO of Merus.
“This significant service agreement between OcellO and Merus enables OcellO to further invest in its technology platform – particularly for immune-oncology drug discovery – to meet the needs of Merus and other companies in the immune-oncology space,” said Leo Price, CEO of OcellO.