VERAXA Biotech AG (NASDAQ: VRXA) has announced the initiation of cell line development for its lead BiTAC(R) T-cell engager (BiTAC-TCE) program through a collaboration with ATUM. The partnership will leverage ATUM’s Leap-In Transposase(R) technology to generate stable clonal cell lines that will support IND/CTA-enabling activities and future clinical development. This milestone follows encouraging preclinical data presented at the 2026 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting and is intended to advance CMC development, including early process, analytical and formulation development, as well as the production of material for nonclinical studies.
The company’s BiTAC-TCE platform is designed to improve tumor selectivity by splitting the T-cell engager into two complementary precursors that activate only when both bind separate tumor targets on the same cell. VERAXA believes this conditional “AND”-gated approach could reduce off-tumor toxicity associated with conventional T-cell engagers while maintaining anti-cancer activity. This could potentially enable higher dosing and a broader therapeutic window, addressing a significant challenge in cancer immunotherapy.
Conventional T-cell engagers, while effective in directing immune cells to tumors, often lead to off-target effects that limit their dosing and efficacy. By requiring dual tumor-specific binding, VERAXA’s BiTAC platform aims to spare healthy tissues, a critical advantage that could improve patient outcomes and expand the applicability of T-cell engagers across various cancer types. The initiation of cell line development is a key step toward translating this preclinical promise into a clinical reality.
VERAXA was founded on scientific breakthroughs made at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), a world-renowned institution known for pioneering life science research. The company is building a pipeline of next-generation antibody-based therapeutics, including bispecific T-cell engagers, bispecific ADCs, and other innovative formats. The BiTAC(R) platform is a registered trademark of VERAXA Biotech GmbH.
The latest news and updates relating to VRXA are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/VRXA. For more information, the full press release can be accessed at https://ibn.fm/FCIlk.
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