LA-based Xencor and Atreca Enter Strategic Collaboration
On July 8, 2020, Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ: XNCR), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, and Atreca, Inc. (Atreca) (NASDAQ: BCEL), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel therapeutics generated through a unique discovery platform based on interrogation of the active human immune response, announced via Business Wire that the companies have entered into a collaboration and license agreement to research, develop and commercialize T cell engaging bispecific antibodies as potential therapeutics in oncology.
Bispecific antibodies that direct T cells to tumor cells, by simultaneously binding CD3 on T cells and a target on tumor cells, have the potential to drive tumor cell killing. This collaboration will leverage Xencor’s XmAb® engineering platform to design and manufacture CD3 bispecific antibodies and Atreca's ability to generate novel antibody-target pairs through its discovery platform, including its Immune Repertoire Capture® (IRC™) technology.
The companies will engage in a three-year discovery program in which Atreca will provide antibodies against novel tumor targets from which Xencor will engineer XmAb bispecific antibodies that also bind to the CD3 receptor on T cells.
“Xencor is building a broad portfolio of drug candidates based on our XmAb technologies, which enable us to create therapeutic antibodies and other proteins with enhanced properties and new mechanisms of action,” said Bassil Dahiyat, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer at Xencor. “Atreca’s unique discovery platform complements our protein engineering capabilities and bispecific platform by providing novel, tumor-selective antibodies and targets to engage with cytotoxic T cell killing. This collaboration offers both Xencor and Atreca with several opportunities to advance novel first-in-class CD3 bispecific antibodies for the potential treatment of patients with cancer.”
Read the full press release here.
