Merus receives EuroTransBio Grant

December 15, 2009

Merus BV, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of mixtures of human therapeutic antibodies, today announced that it has received a grant worth € 0.67 million for the development of an antibody combination therapy for chronic inflammatory diseases using its novel OligoclonicsTM and MeMoTM technologies. The grant was awarded by EuroTransBio.

Merus is applying the OligoclonicsTM and MeMoTM technologies to build a pipeline of innovative human therapeutic antibodies. With these technologies, Merus generates combinations of therapeutic antibodies produced from a single cell that boast superior biological activity when compared to single antibodies. The EuroTransBio grant will allow Merus to develop innovative antibody drugs for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Ton Logtenberg, CEO of Merus, said: "We are pleased that EuroTransBio has recognized the potential of Merus's innovative technologies to deliver next generation therapeutics offering substantial clinical benefit to patients with chronic diseases. This grant supports collaboration between European companies and academic institutions that combine their unique expertise to achieve this goal".

About EuroTransBio. EuroTransBio is a European Area Network in which 12 EU countries and regions participate. EuroTransBio aims to stimulate the competitive capacity of Europe's biotechnology industry by supporting the research-intensive small and medium enterprises and their strategic partnerships.

About Merus. Merus is an early stage biotechnology company that applies its MeMoTM technology to the discovery, development and preclinical validation of OligoclonicsTM and Bi-specific antibodies in multiple therapeutic areas including oncology, chronic inflammation, and infectious diseases. Merus aims to demonstrate superior efficacy of these human recombinant antibody-based therapeutics in relevant pre-clinical models and further develop selected product candidates to early clinical testing.

For further information. Please visit our website at www.merus.nl or send an e-mail to enquiries@2merus.nl