X-BODY BioSciences, Mercator Therapeutics collaborate for multi-target cancer research

Jan 7 2011

Mercator Therapeutics, Inc., the first biopharmaceutical company to systematically use in vivo phage display technology to develop novel cancer drugs, and X-BODY BioSciences, Inc., a developer of monoclonal antibody therapeutics, today announced a multi-target research collaboration. The companies will collaborate to develop antibodies to four of Mercator's cancer targets identified using Mercator's proprietary in vivo screening technology.

“Mercator is changing the cancer treatment paradigm by developing therapeutics that selectively target receptors that are highly expressed on human tumor cells, and X-BODY is excited about collaborating with Mercator to develop these much needed cancer therapeutics”

Mercator discovers 'Homing Peptides' and the rapidly internalizing receptors to which they home using a unique in vivo screening process, including screening in end-stage cancer patients under strict ethical guidelines. By letting the screen define the target, Mercator identifies uniquely validated oncology targets. These targets are ideally suited for the development of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which can be used either as stand-alone therapeutics or as targeting moieties to selectively deliver cytotoxic agents to tumor cells. X-BODY's fully human library captures the natural antibody repertoire. Compared to synthetic libraries, fully human libraries reduce the probability of side effects due to immune responses. Protein Chain Reaction™, one of the key features of X-BODY's therapeutic platform, allows for screening against cell surface targets in their native state on live cells or purified target proteins.

Dr. Roy Lobb, Chairman & CSO of Mercator, commented, "X-BODY has identified a direct, rapid, and efficient path to fully human mAbs and mAb fragments, and we look forward to a productive collaboration employing the X-BODY therapeutic platform against our proprietary targets."

Under the terms of the Agreement between Mercator and X-BODY, X-BODY will screen its proprietary libraries against four of Mercator's cancer targets to identify human antibody therapeutic candidates. Mercator has the right to acquire rights to the antibodies discovered in the collaboration for further pre-clinical research, clinical development, and commercialization. Mercator will pay X-BODY undisclosed research funding, assignment fees, milestones, and royalties in connection with the development of products resulting from the collaboration.

"Mercator is changing the cancer treatment paradigm by developing therapeutics that selectively target receptors that are highly expressed on human tumor cells, and X-BODY is excited about collaborating with Mercator to develop these much needed cancer therapeutics," said Dr. Rick Wagner, Executive Chairman of X-BODY.