Merck & Co. Partners with Epitopea to Explore ‘Junk DNA’ for Novel Cancer Antigens
Merck & Co. and Epitopea have entered into a license and research collaboration agreement to identify Cryptigen tumor-specific antigens (TSAs) in an undisclosed solid tumor12.
The deal is worth up to $300 million per product in milestone payments, with Epitopea receiving an undisclosed upfront payment14.
Epitopea will use its proprietary CryptoMap platform to identify novel, immunogenic Cryptigen TSAs derived from previously considered "junk DNA"12.
Cryptigen TSAs are shared, non-mutated, aberrantly expressed antigens that have largely escaped detection until now15.
Merck will have exclusive rights to develop and commercialize therapies resulting from the collaboration14.
The partnership aims to develop off-the-shelf RNA-based immunotherapies for hard-to-treat cancers45.
Epitopea is a transatlantic cancer immunotherapeutics company based in Cambridge, UK, and Montreal, Canada25.
The company recently closed a $31 million pre-Series A financing round to accelerate its preclinical pipeline development16.
Epitopea's approach focuses on targeting a new class of untapped tumor-specific antigens that are broadly shared across multiple patients with the same tumor type6.
The collaboration with Merck is seen as validation for Epitopea's unique capabilities and potential to develop breakthrough immunotherapies24.
Sources:
1. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/merck-pens-300m-product-collab-epitopea-find-hidden-tumor-antigens
2. https://www.cic.vc/epitopea-unveils-research-collaboration-with-msd/
4. https://www.pharmexec.com/view/epitopea-strikes-research-collaboration-merck-appoints-klaus-edvardsen-chief-medical-officer
6. https://www.epitopea.com/epitopea-closes-usd-31-million-pre-series-a-financing/