Merck, OMT announce new antibody discovery collaboration

Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc. (OMT) today announced an antibody discovery collaboration with Merck KGaA. OMT and Merck KGaA have entered into a collaboration whereby OMT will use its OmniRats™ to generate antibodies against several targets selected by Merck KGaA. Merck KGaA has the rights to further develop and commercialize the antibodies derived from the OmniRat™ as therapeutic and diagnostic products. Under the terms of the agreement, OMT will receive upfront payment, success-based milestones, and royalties.

"We are pleased to be collaborating with Merck KGaA. OMT's OmniRat™ generates antibodies with great specificity, affinity and manufacturability. Our partners are looking for technologies that can eliminate time-consuming humanization of antibodies or optimization of leads identified using display technology. The OmniRat™ can save significant development time and is available for all targets", said Roland Buelow, Founder and CEO of OMT.