Collaboration
Affimed, spun out from the Recombinant Antibodies group at the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), in Heidelberg, Germany, has signed a collaboration agreement with Bayer Schering Pharma, DKFZ, and partners within the Molecular Imaging Technology Initiative. Under the terms of the agreement, Affimed will receive €550K to develop recombinant antibodies to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases.
The collaboration agreement, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), will see Affimed joining the Molecular Imaging Technology Initiative. The funds will enable the company to screen its human antibody libraries, to identify and isolate molecules that bind targets on tumor tissues. Post-identification in vitro characterisation of the optimised binding molecules will be carried out by collaboration partners Bayer and DKFZ.
The project will identify new diagnostic tracer molecules that can be used in imaging technologies, and also as a base for the development of pharmaceutical therapeutics. Melvyn Little, of Affimed, said: “We are delighted about being chosen for this collaboration. Affimed’s antibody discovery engine is one of the most powerful in industry and we are confident that with this funding we will be able to generate novel tumour specific binding proteins that may have diagnostic or even therapeutic use.”
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