Infinimmune Enters into Collaboration with Merck to Advance Human Antibody Discovery
Wednesday, April 01, 2026
Infinimmune has entered into a collaboration with Merck (MSD outside the United States and Canada) to discover and develop novel human antibody therapeutics across multiple undisclosed targets.
As part of the agreement, Infinimmune will apply its proprietary Anthrobody® discovery platform along with its GLIMPSE™ antibody language model to identify and optimise antibody candidates derived directly from human immune systems. The platform enables large-scale screening of single memory B cells, allowing rapid identification of antibodies with strong binding, high specificity and suitable drug-like properties.
Merck will hold exclusive rights to develop and commercialise any antibody candidates generated through the collaboration. Infinimmune will receive an upfront payment and is eligible for milestone payments linked to the progress of multiple programmes, with the total potential value reaching up to approximately $838 million.
The collaboration aims to combine human immune biology with advanced computational tools to improve the efficiency and quality of antibody discovery. By focusing on naturally occurring human antibodies, the approach seeks to identify candidates with improved safety, reduced immunogenicity and better clinical potential compared to conventional methods.
Infinimmune’s platform integrates large-scale immune repertoire screening with machine learning–guided optimisation to enhance potency, manufacturability and overall developability. The company has built a substantial dataset of human-derived antibodies, which supports the identification of candidates with favourable therapeutic characteristics, including extended half-life and high precision targeting.
Alongside this partnership, Infinimmune continues to develop its internal pipeline of antibody therapies. These include IFX-101, an IL-22 inhibitor, and IFX-201, an IL-13 inhibitor, both being studied for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. Additional programmes are focused on inflammatory and immunological conditions, including targets such as APRIL and IL-17F.
Source: businesswire.com
