AbCheck and Molecular Templates Announce Collaboration to Discover Therapeutic Oncology Leads

Plzen, Czech Republic, and Austin, TX, USA, October 25, 2017 - AbCheck s.r.o., a technology company focusing on the discovery and optimization of high-quality human antibodies, and Molecular Templates Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company (Nasdaq: MTEM) developing next generation immunotoxins for the treatment of cancer, announced today that they have entered into a strategic collaboration. Under the agreement AbCheck will use its proprietary AbSieve discovery platform to deliver antibodies against biological targets selected by Molecular Templates.

"AbCheck has a unique suite of advanced in vitro as well as in vivo technologies and has proven its ability to deliver highly promising candidates for drug development," commented Eric Poma, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Molecular Templates. "We are excited to work with AbCheck to develop novel therapeutics to fight cancer."

AbCheck has established a partnered-discovery model to make its versatile platform technologies available to provide antibody discovery, characterization and optimization of high-quality drug candidates. In its collaboration with Molecular Templates, AbCheck will initially leverage its expertise in phage/yeast display through its AbSieve platform, one of its many technologies. Further details were not disclosed.

"Molecular Templates has one of the most exciting platforms in immuno-oncology, with the capabilities to deliver toxins to cancer cells in a way that has not previously been possible. We are pleased to enter into this new collaboration to support lead discovery for Molecular Templates' next-generation Engineered Toxin Bodies," added Dr. Volker Lang, Managing Director of AbCheck.

About AbCheck

AbCheck discovers and optimizes human antibodies leveraging several proprietary platforms including in vitro and in vivo technologies. We use phage/yeast display libraries (AbSieve), mass humanization and antibody optimization (AbAccel) to provide high quality leads. Our technology platform can be used in conjunction with all antibody designs and allows selection of optimized leads from a huge number of variants. Flexibly adapting to our partners' needs, we offer a variety of business models, including deals without royalties. AbCheck has proven its capabilities in multiple partnerships throughout the US and Europe. AbCheck is a wholly owned subsidiary of Affimed GmbH. For more information, please visit http://abcheck.eu.

About Molecular Templates 

Molecular Templates is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation immunotoxins called Engineered Toxin Bodies (ETBs) for the treatment of cancers and other serious diseases. ETBs can induce internalization of normally non-internalizing receptors and possess the additional property of a unique cell killing mechanism.  For additional information, please visit Molecular Templates' website at www.mtem.com.

For more information:

AbCheck s.r.o.
Dr. Volker Lang
Managing Director
+420 378 051500
[email protected]

Molecular Templates, Inc.
Andrew McDonald, Ph.D.
+1 646 597 6987
[email protected]