Fabrus, Ambrx commence joint research program for antibody drug conjugates

FABRUS, LLC announces that the Company and San Diego-based Ambrx Inc. have commenced a joint research program to discover antibodies with properties that are optimized for use as antibody drug conjugates. Under the research agreement, Fabrus will use its proprietary antibody library, screening, and functional maturation approaches to deliver unique, affinity-matured antibodies against a number of targets nominated by Ambrx. The collaboration antibodies will be modified by Ambrx, using its proprietary unnatural amino acid technology, to produce antibody drug conjugates directed to each therapeutic target. The agreement grants Ambrx the exclusive right to commercialize conjugated forms of the antibodies generated under the collaboration. Fabrus will receive various upfront payments and is eligible to receive success fees and a share of certain payments received by Ambrx in the future. Ambrx was granted an option to acquire a minority equity interest in Fabrus.

“Fabrus' recent deals and quality publications illustrate the potential of our unique discovery platform. We are now excited to roll up our sleeves and deliver novel therapeutics for patients”

The collaboration is the latest of a series of exciting events in the past two weeks that mark a new phase of growth for Fabrus. These include an investment by OPKO Health Inc. (NYSE Amex: OPK), the award of a $244,000 grant under the IRS Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project and publication of the company's novel spatially addressed antibody library platform in Nature Biotechnology (http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v28/n11/full/nbt.1694.html).

"Fabrus' recent deals and quality publications illustrate the potential of our unique discovery platform. We are now excited to roll up our sleeves and deliver novel therapeutics for patients," said Vaughn Smider, MD, PhD, founder of Fabrus.