VERAXA Biotech & Indivumed Cooperate on the Development of Precision Oncology Antibody

VERAXA Biotech GmbH, Heidelberg, and Indivumed GmbH, Hamburg, recently announced their agreement to jointly discover modulatory and functional antibodies against several targets that are relevant for colorectal cancer. The targets have been identified by Indivumed’s discovery solution platform nRavel, only 2 months after its launch. The antibody development and commercialization will be performed by Indivumed’s subsidiary, Ix Therapeutics.

VERAXA Biotech GmbH is a pioneer in microfluidic technology for the screening of antibodies with modulatory function on complex signal proteins like GPCRs or ion channels. The high-throughput screening platform allows for the testing of millions of fully natural IgGs from humans and mice for therapeutic effects, rather than just for binding. Results are obtained in only a fraction of the time required by other technologies. The company offers customized screening services for users worldwide. Besides carrying out service projects, VERAXA is currently also establishing its own proprietary pipeline of therapeutic antibody candidates for further joint development with pharma partners.

Indivumed has set up a leading multi-omics database with extensive medical experience, bioinformatics expertise, and AI-integrated advanced analytics for a most effective medical diagnostics and predictive therapeutic use. Just recently, the company launched its AI-based platform nRavel, which together with Indivumed’s IndivuType multi-omics database will derive more precise insights into and much better predictors for certain pathologies and diseases with high medical needs.

“The high quality of data and the artificial intelligence tools that Indivumed utilizes means that we can be more confident in the validity of the targets,” said Dr. Christoph Antz, CEO of Veraxa. “With our technology, we can move rapidly into the development of functional antibodies that have the potential to serve as new therapeutics.”

“Having thousands of patient cases complete with comprehensive multi-omics and clinical data coupled with the advanced AI capabilities of nRavel gives us the ability to derive novel insights in just a short period of time,” said Prof. Dr. Hartmut Juhl, Founder and CEO of Indivumed. “As we continue to uncover additional targets, having a partner like Veraxa who can develop functional antibodies in an accelerated manner is critical to our ability to discover new possibilities for cancer treatment in the shortest-possible time and fight this disease.”

VERAXA Biotech GmbH is a fusion of Velabs Therapeutics GmbH and Araxa Biosciences GmbH, both spin-off companies from Europe’s most renowned institute for life science research and instrument development, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), which is at the forefront of microfluidics-based screening technology and applications worldwide. The company’s droplet-based microfluidic screening technology and its innovative antibody and protein conjugation technology allows for a rapid generation of antibodies against most complex target molecules and for a target product profile sharpening of existing mAb candidates in oncology or precision medicine. VERAXA is a preferred license and cooperation partner of global biotech and pharma industries.

Driven by our mission to unveil the complex mechanisms of cancer and to advance precision oncology, Indivumed combines the world’s most comprehensive multi-omics data with extensive medical experience, bioinformatics expertise, and AI-integrated advanced analytics. Our global clinical network enables us to collect and analyze thousands of patient samples using a standardized approach to ensure biospecimen quality across three business units – IndivuServ, IndivuTest, and IndivuType. The unparalleled depth and quality of our data – coupled with our robust product and service offerings – gives us the ability to obtain novel insights and accelerate cancer research.

Ix Therapeutics is a subsidiary of Indivumed that was founded in 2021 to develop therapeutic antibodies based on novel and proprietary targets of Indivumed. XlifeSciences cofounded Ix Therapeutics, entering the joint venture as Indivumed’s financial partner.