OcellO announces two year agreement with Merus to provide in vitro research services for MCLA-158 and other undisclosed Biclonics programs

OcellO B.V., a Contract Research Organisation offering 3D cell based assay services for drug discovery to the pharmaceutical industry, announced that it entered an agreement to provide in vitro research services to Merus N.V., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing innovative bispecific antibody therapeutics, for Merus’ MCLA-158 Biclonics program and other undisclosed Biclonics discovery programs.

Pursuant to the agreement, OcellO will provide €1 million of in vitro research services to Merus over a period of two years. OcellO will also utilize its 3D immune-oncology co-culture screening technology to support other undisclosed Merus Biclonics discovery programs.

Merus is developing MCLA-158 in Phase 1 in patients with solid tumors with an initial focus on metastatic colorectal cancer. MCLA-158 is designed to bind to cancer stem cells expressing leucine-rich repeat-containing G protein-coupled receptor 5 (Lgr5) and epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR). “With this new commitment, Merus looks forward to extending its long-standing productive relationship with the OcellO team,” said Mark Throsby, CSO of Merus.

“This significant service agreement between OcellO and Merus enables OcellO to further invest in its technology platform – particularly for immune-oncology drug discovery – to meet the needs of Merus and other companies in the immune-oncology space,” said Leo Price, CEO of OcellO.