Adimab and Mersana Announce Antibody-Drug Conjugate Alliance

LEBANON, N.H. and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Adimab, LLC, the technology leader in the discovery and optimization of fully human therapeutic antibodies, and Mersana Therapeutics, Inc., a next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) company, today announced the initiation of a joint effort to offer integrated antibody discovery and ADC technologies.  The alliance is built to offer pharmaceutical companies seamless access to Adimab's world-class antibodies that have been specifically optimized for use in ADCs together with Mersana's Fleximer polymer and broad array of customizable linkers for attaching diverse, potent payloads.

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"We are excited to couple Mersana's innovative ADC technology with our platform for use by the pharmaceutical industry. The flexibility in payloads, linkers and drug loading enabled by Mersana's Fleximer technology complements Adimab's philosophy of tailoring drug development to the biology of the target of interest," said Adimab CEO Tillman Gerngross.  "With this deal, Adimab is further expanding its footprint beyond monoclonal antibody discovery. We view ADCs, as well as other aspects of antibody discovery such as bispecific formats, as important tools in the development of novel therapeutics."  

"Over the past three years Adimab has established itself as the premier therapeutic antibody discovery company in the industry," said Mersana CEO Nicholas Bacopoulos.  "We are excited to combine Adimab's technology with our highly differentiated ADC platform consisting of our clinically validated Fleximer polymer, diverse linkers and a wide variety of payloads.  Adimab's tailored approach fits perfectly with the customized design of Fleximer ADCs and together we can provide ADCs with increased likelihood of target selectivity and therapeutic efficacy.  With our recently announced financing, this alliance represents a significant step forward in the company's transformation into a next-generation ADC company."

About Adimab

Adimab's fully integrated antibody discovery and optimization platform provides partners with the unique opportunity to readily incorporate biological assessments during the selection process. The availability of purified, full-length human IgGs allows for rapid determination of biologic function and potential therapeutic efficacy. Adimab offers fundamental advantages by delivering and optimizing diverse panels of therapeutically relevant antibodies that meet the most aggressive standards for affinity, epitope coverage, species cross-reactivity and developability.

With more than 30 antibody discovery projects in the last three years, Adimab has become the industry's most sought after partner for the development of therapeutic human antibodies.  Adimab has enabled its partners, including Biogen Idec, Eli Lilly, Genentech, Gilead, Human Genome Sciences, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, and Roche to expand their biologics pipelines through a range of technology access arrangements.  Less than three years after Adimab launched its platform several antibodies discovered by Adimab have entered human clinical trials providing further evidence for the quality and speed of the platform.  For more information, visit www.adimab.com.

About Mersana

Mersana engineers novel drug conjugates that maximize the potential of new and established therapeutic classes. Utilizing its proprietary conjugation technology, which is comprised of the Fleximer^® polymer and a broad array of customizable linker chemistries, Mersana is developing a portfolio of next-generation antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with superior properties not found with other ADC technologies.  Mersana is currently working with a number of top Pharma companies to develop next generation Fleximer-ADCs and most recently announced a $270 million collaboration with Endo Pharmaceuticals in March, 2012. The company is also advancing its own pipeline of next-generation drugs with best-in-class potential to address unmet needs and improve patient outcomes in multiple oncology indications. Mersana was founded by PureTech Ventures, LLC and a group of leading academics and clinicians.

For more information, visit www.mersana.com.

Fleximer^® is a trademark of Mersana Therapeutics, Inc.

SOURCE Mersana Therapeutics, Inc.

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