Merus launches MeMo™, a transgenic mouse for improved therapeutic human monoclonal antibodies

September 27, 2011

Utrecht, The Netherlands, September 27, 2011 – Merus announced today that it has completed the construction of a single-light chain transgenic mouse for the generation of therapeutic human monoclonal antibodies. MeMo™ provides rapid access to large collections of high affinity antibodies for direct functional analysis. Merus intends to make the MeMo™ mouse broadly available through licensing as well as use the platform for expanding its pipeline of innovative antibody therapeutics.

Ton Logtenberg, CEO of Merus: "there is a significant commercial need for an accessible transgenic mouse platform for therapeutic human antibodies. With MeMo™, we have constructed a unique mouse for the generation of diverse collections of high affinity human monoclonal antibodies. The single immunoglobulin light-chain, in combination with diversified heavy chains, facilitates unprecedented ease in antibody discovery and development and straightforward manufacturing. Because of the single light chain, innovative formats with desirable functional properties like bispecific antibodies can be directly identified in functional screens." .

Merus will make the MeMo™ mouse available through a non-exclusive, world-wide license. "With MeMo™ we provide licensees with an attractive state-of-the-art antibody generation platform for unrestricted use for any target in any disease area. Licensing terms are tailored to the needs of our licensees to provide them with maximum flexibility”, says Ton Logtenberg. About Merus: Merus is a biotechnology company that is applying its proprietary technologies to build a pipeline of innovative human therapeutic antibodies. These technologies support the generation of innovative antibody formats for improved clinical efficacy like bispecific antibodies or mixtures of antibodies. Merus aims to demonstrate superior efficacy of these human recombinant antibody-based therapeutics in relevant pre-clinical models and further develop selected product candidates through early clinical testing in multiple therapeutic areas.

Please visit our website at www.merus.nl or send an e-mail to s.margetson@merus.nl for further information.