Incyte to use Merus' technology platform to study bispecific antibodies

Incyte Corp. and Merus N.V. have a new partnership to study and develop a platform around bispecific antibodies using Merus’ proprietary Biclonics technology platform.
“By virtue of a unique ability to simultaneously engage multiple protein targets, we believe bispecific antibodies have the potential to play an important role in the future of biotherapeutics,” Dr. Reid Huber, Incyte’s chief scientific officer, said. “This collaboration with Merus expands our large molecule discovery capabilities into an innovation-rich area of research, creating additional opportunities for us to deliver on our commitment to improving and extending the lives of patients with cancer and other serious diseases.”
Incyte will pay Merus $120 million upfront as per the partnership agreement. Additionally, Incyte agreed to buy 3.2 million Merus stock shares at $25 per share – a total equity investment of $80 million.
“This transformative, global collaboration further underscores the potential of Merus’ Biclonics technology platform and establishes a strong relationship with Incyte, a leader in innovative drug development,” Merus CEO Dr. Ton Logtenberg said. “We look forward to expanding our pipeline under this agreement, as we efficiently exploit our preclinical discovery engine and progress our most advanced, proprietary assets in the clinic.”