Vaccinex, Inc. announced that it has entered into eight new antibody discovery agreements integrating use of its proprietary ActivMAb platform to select antibodies against difficult-to-drug transmembrane protein targets. Within the last 3 months, Vaccinex has entered into new antibody discovery agreements for complex targets with 3 major pharma and biotech companies as well as 5 strategic relationships with other antibody service providers who have developed transgenic animal species for immunization or very large synthetic antibody libraries that complement own technology. ActivMAb's new Antigen Virus application is a powerful complement to drug discovery strategies targeting complex protein targets including ion channels and G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) such as chemokine receptors.

Specific membrane targets are also key to development of antibody drug conjjugates (ADC) for cancer, The ActivMAb system enables expression of functional, properly folded complex proteins on the relatively simple membrane of a mammalian virus. The company believe that this is a much more highly purified presentation and efficient selection technology than the complex natural membrane fragments that have been termed virus-like particles. The company have recently publicized success in selecting high value antibodies against challenging multi-pass membrane targets.

The company are excited to be able to capitalize on what the company believe is recognition of the unique capabilities of drug discovery technology. The company believe recent interest in this technology may reflect increased market optimization and renewed attention to pipelines that were neglected during the biotech downturn of the past two years. Ongoing partnerships can leverage the full suite of ActivMAb Antibody Discovery solutions to accelerate development of novel, high-value therapeutics, said Maurice Zauderer, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Vaccinex.

ActivMAb is a proprietary antibody discovery platform developed by Vaccinex with unique capabilities for multi-pass membrane targets such as G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The ActivMAb technology has multiple applications including: complex membrane antigen expression and presentation, antibody and antigen discovery, directed evolution and protein optimization. The first clinical candidate selected through use of this technology (CHS-114, a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting CCR8), is in clinical development for cancer immunotherapy by Coherus Biosciences, Inc.