Medigene AG

Medigene and Structured Immunity announce collaboration aimed at improving T Cell receptor development

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Planegg (pta007/21.08.2018/07:30) - Structured Immunity to evaluate specificity and recognition properties of a lead T cell receptor using proprietary structural immunology platform

Structured Immunity, a biotechnology company specializing in the optimization and validation of T cell receptor (TCR) proteins and Medigene AG, a leading biotechnology company engaged in the development of immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, today announced a research collaboration where Structured Immunity will provide structural immunology expertise in support of Medigene's TCR discovery activities. Under the terms of the agreement, Medigene will supply Structured Immunity with a lead TCR candidate for a high-profile solid tumor target. Structured Immunity will evaluate the TCR's specificity and recognition properties using their established structural immunology technologies.

The agreement has formally established the relationship between the two companies with a view to further partnerships and collaborative opportunities in the future.

"We are delighted to begin this strategic collaboration with Medigene, a leader in immunotherapy, as together we aim to improve how lead TCR candidates are validated and optimized," said David Hardwicke, co-founder and president at Structured Immunity. "We believe this partnership with Medigene will further showcase and validate our platform technology and demonstrate the value of structural immunology in TCR development." The collaboration will also involve the expertise of the research laboratory of Dr. Brian Baker at the University of Notre Dame, as well as the advice and support of Notre Dame's IDEA Center. "We would like to acknowledge Dr. Baker's scientific input, and thank the IDEA Center for their support in the development of Structured Immunity," said Hardwicke.

Prof. Dolores Schendel, CEO and CSO of Medigene AG, comments: "We are excited to start this new collaboration with Structured Immunity that will focus on the structural interactions between a TCR and the corresponding MHC-peptide complex. As the recognition site between these two complexes is relatively small, it is necessary to determine the exact binding affinities of target peptides. We are convinced that SI's technology can help us to select optimal and highly efficacious TCRs that have the potential to further enhance the efficacy and safety of our approach to bring highly beneficial cellular therapies to the market."