AU ZH, Switzerland, April 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Araris Biotech AG, a company pioneering a proprietary antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)-linker technology, today announced the execution of an asset purchase agreement for the acquisition of ARS Pharmaceutical’s Nectin-4 antibody. The antibody was initially developed as part of an immune stimulating ADC by Silverback Therapeutics prior to its merger with ARS. Araris intends to use the antibody in the development of a differentiated Nectin-4 ADC using its proprietary linker technology to broaden its ADC pipeline.
Nectin-4 is a tumor-associated antigen overexpressed in a variety of large tumor indications and has been used as a target in ADC development previously. Under the terms of the agreement Araris will acquire ARS’ antibody against Nectin-4. The deal enables Araris to combine its proprietary linker technology with ARS’ GLP-tox ready Nectin-4 antibody, in order to develop targeted ADC therapeutics, with various linker-payloads, for the treatment of solid tumors of high unmet medical need.
“We aim to use this antibody together with our one-step conjugation technology and linker-payload toolbox for the development of next-generation Nectin-4 targeted therapies,” said Philipp Spycher, Ph.D., chief executive officer and co-founder of Araris Biotech. “Nectin-4 is a well validated oncology target but has shown significant on-target/off-tumor toxicity in current ADCs. In preliminary head-to-head studies, we demonstrated our linker technology enables improved efficacy and tolerability compared to existing Nectin-4 therapies, allowing Araris to generate ADCs with an improved therapeutic index. Acquiring this Nectin-4 antibody from ARS is a meaningful step forward for Araris in expanding our pipeline of ADC therapeutics and moving closer to advancing a candidate into clinical development.”
About Araris Biotech AG
Araris Biotech AG is pioneering the development of its novel antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)-linker technology to enable efficient and precise production of ADCs. Its linker platform enables the attachment of any drug payload to ‘off the shelf’ antibodies, without the need for prior antibody engineering. The resulting ADCs have shown very high activity at low doses and an improved therapeutic index compared to FDA-approved ADCs. Araris is a spin-off company from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and ETH Zurich.
For more information, please visit www.ararisbiotech.com or follow Araris on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Corporate Contact:
Philipp Spycher, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
info@ararisbiotech.com
www.ararisbiotech.com
Media Contact:
Veronica Eames
LifeSci Communications, LLC
veames@lifescicomms.com
646-970-4682
