VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 27, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AbCellera, a biotechnology company specializing in the rapid discovery of monoclonal antibodies from natural immune cells, today announced a new collaboration with Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, through a subsidiary, to generate antibodies against an undisclosed disease target.
“Our platform has the potential to generate functional antibodies against extremely difficult targets that have been intractable until now,” says Dr. Carl Hansen, President and CEO of AbCellera. “We’re excited to partner with a global innovator like Merck in the discovery of antibodies to advance their pipeline of next-generation therapies.”
“Merck recognizes the innovative science and synergy of collaboration in British Columbia. Our company has established several life sciences collaborations in the province aimed at translating breakthrough science into products that can bring meaningful improvements to patients' lives,” explained Chirfi Guindo, President and Managing Director at Merck Canada Inc. “We are pleased to be working with AbCellera to identify novel antibodies using their innovative microfluidic discovery technology.”
Under the agreement, AbCellera will apply its high-throughput antibody discovery platform to identify antibodies that specifically modulate target function. The agreement grants Merck the option to develop antibody candidates identified through the collaboration for specified therapeutic applications. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
About AbCellera Biologics Inc.
AbCellera is a privately held biotechnology company that provides enabling technologies for the discovery and development of monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies directly from natural immune cells.
AbCellera’s lead technology is a proprietary single cell antibody discovery platform that provides pharma and biotech partners with the ability to rapidly identify mAb therapeutic candidates from the natural immune repertoires of any species, including humans. For more information, please visit www.abcellera.com