VERAXA Biotech Launches New BiTAC Platform to Develop Breakthrough Antibody Therapies with Unprecedented Safety Features

HEIDELBERG, Germany, July 18, 2024 -- VERAXA Biotech AG, an emerging leader in designing novel cancer therapies, announced today the launch of its new BiTAC technology platform. The BiTAC technology, which stands for Bi-targeted Tumor-Associated Cytotoxicity, aims to provide highly effective yet significantly safer cancer therapeutic by applying a combinatorial-gated design. BiTAC’s rely on a novel antibody architecture with two complementary antibody precursors, which only form the therapeutically active molecule when the respective targets are in proximity on the cancer cells. VERAXA has initiated novel proprietary development programs based on the BiTAC platform including both next-generation BiTAC T cell engagers (TCE’s) and BiTAC antibody drug conjugates (ADC’s) and has initiated partnering discussions to form partnerships around the platform.

“Today’s news is the culmination of a longer-term project to establish a technology capable of delivering truly next-generation antibody therapies,” commented Christoph Antz, Ph.D., CEO and Co-Founder of VERAXA. “With the BiTAC format, we aim to unlock a range of smart designs and therapeutic strategies leading to conditional activation of the final therapeutic effect only when and where it is intended. The technology makes next-generation antibody therapies programmable with an unprecedented level of safety staying front and center.”

While T-cell-engaging bispecific molecules represent a significant share of all antibody therapies currently in development, side effects and unfavorable product characteristics continue to limit their widespread use. Especially on-target/off-tumor T cell activation and resulting damage to healthy cells and tissues remain a huge challenge. In their isolated form, the BiTAC TCE’s tumor-binding capability remains intact, while the CD3 binding motif addressing T cells is inactive and only activated in the event of co-localization of both precursors on a tumor cell. This built-in safety feature represents the key to reducing off-tumor toxicity.

In addition to T cell engagers, VERAXA will apply the BiTAC strategy to the development of next-generation antibody drug conjugates. BiTAC ADC’s will rely on the same core principles of combinatorial-gated design and conditional activation of the full therapeutic effect at the tumor site. The company will combine BiTACs with its suite of existing ADC technologies to forge next-generation ADC format with enhanced safety features.

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About VERAXA Biotech

At VERAXA Biotech, we strive to establish the premiere drug discovery and development engine for antibody drug conjugates and other novel antibody-based therapy concepts. Wielding a suite of transformative technology innovations and applying thorough quality-by-design principles in drug discovery, we are accelerating our pipeline of antibody drug conjugates and our novel BiTAC antibody formats into and through clinical development. VERAXA Biotech originates from scientific discoveries made at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), a world-leading institute for life science research and ground-breaking enabling technologies. For more information, please visit www.veraxa.com.

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Contact

VERAXA Biotech GmbH

Dr. Christoph Antz

CEO

Telephone: +49-6221-3521330

Email: antz@veraxa.com

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For media

Mario Brkulj

Valency Communications

Telephone: +49 160 9352 9951

Email: mbrkulj@valencycomms.eu

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