Gilead and Merus Announce Collaboration to Discover Novel Antibody-Based Trispecific T-Cell Engagers

Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Merus N.V. announced a research collaboration, option and license agreement to discover novel dual tumor-associated antigens (TAA) targeting trispecific antibodies. Gilead and Merus agreed to collaborate on the use of Merus’ proprietary Triclonics platform along with Gilead’s oncology expertise to research and develop multiple, separate preclinical research programs.

Merus is a clinical-stage oncology company developing innovative, full-length, multispecific antibodies (Biclonics and Triclonics), referred to together as Multiclonics, that are generated by a proprietary common light chain technology. The Triclonics or trispecific platform provides the unique opportunity to design antibodies capable of simultaneously binding to three targets at once.

“We have seen the successful application of bispecific antibodies as an immune-modulating modality used to treat cancer. We are now looking ahead to the development of additional multispecific antibodies capable of driving robust anti-tumor immune responses with an improved efficacy and safety profile,” said Flavius Martin, M.D., Executive Vice President, Research, Gilead Sciences. “We are excited to explore the potential of Merus’ differentiated Triclonics platform to discover and advance transformative new cancer therapies as we deepen our portfolio across oncology indications.”

“We are looking forward to working with Gilead to develop novel T-cell engager antibodies using our Triclonics technology,” said Hui Liu, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Chief Business Officer & Head of Merus US. “We are grateful for our collaborations which represent opportunities for Merus to leverage our research capabilities to pursue innovative biology and to address significant unmet medical needs. Importantly, this collaboration represents the first for our proprietary Triclonics platform.”