VERAXA Biotech AG (NASDAQ: VRXA) announced the advancement of its bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (bsADC) program, VXA-222, after reaching a key technical milestone in its collaboration with OmniAb (NASDAQ: OABI). The company said OmniAb has successfully completed its discovery work, allowing the program to move into its next phase. VXA-222 is designed to target two tumor antigens with a single molecule using an 'AND-gate' approach intended to improve precision in treating solid tumors.
Under the collaboration launched in May 2025, OmniAb provided antibody discovery technologies, including its OmniClic platform, while VERAXA is applying its proprietary linker technology and conjugation expertise to develop and validate the lead bsADC candidate. VERAXA holds exclusive rights to develop and commercialize products arising from the collaboration, with OmniAb entitled to a share of specified revenue generated from resulting products. The announcement is significant as it marks progress in the development of next-generation antibody-based therapeutics, specifically bispecific ADCs that could offer more targeted cancer treatments with potentially fewer side effects.
VXA-222 represents a novel approach in oncology by leveraging the 'AND-gate' logic, where the therapeutic effect is activated only when both tumor antigens are present, thereby increasing specificity and reducing off-target toxicity. This milestone underscores the potential of combining OmniAb's discovery platform with VERAXA's proprietary linker and conjugation technologies to create advanced therapeutic candidates. The collaboration highlights the growing trend of partnerships in the biotech industry to accelerate drug development and bring innovative treatments to patients.
For more details, the full press release is available at https://ibn.fm/qMRuJ. VERAXA continues to build its pipeline of ADCs and proprietary BiTAC formats, aiming to advance them into clinical development. The company was founded on scientific breakthroughs at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), a renowned institution for life science research.
This news matters because it demonstrates tangible progress in the development of bispecific ADCs, a promising class of cancer therapeutics that could improve patient outcomes. The successful completion of the discovery phase by OmniAb and the advancement of VXA-222 bring the field closer to potential clinical trials and eventual commercialization. Investors and stakeholders in the biotech sector should monitor these developments as they could signal future growth and innovation in targeted cancer therapies.
For ongoing updates, visit the company's newsroom at http://ibn.fm/VRXA.
