Infinimmune, a biotechnology company pioneering antibody discovery and design, entered a collaboration with Merck to apply Infinimmune’s human-first antibody discovery platform to identify and develop antibody candidates against multiple undisclosed targets designated by Merck.

Infinimmune will use its Anthrobody discovery platform and GLIMPSE antibody language model to discover and optimize therapeutic antibodies derived directly from human immune repertoires. The Infinimmune platform enables the screening of millions of single memory B cells across hundreds of potential targets, identifying natively paired antibody candidates and enabling the rapid identification of candidates with strong affinity, specificity, and favorable drug-like properties.

Merck will have the exclusive right to develop and commercialize antibody candidates arising from the collaboration. Infinimmune will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and is eligible to receive milestone payments associated with the progress of multiple antibody candidates all totaling up to approximately $838 million.

“We are excited to work with Merck to apply our platform to the discovery of novel antibody therapeutics,” said Wyatt McDonnell, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder, Infinimmune. “By discovering antibodies directly from human immune systems and combining that biology with advanced AI-driven engineering, we can uncover therapeutic opportunities that traditional discovery approaches may not access. This collaboration allows us to scale our human-first discovery engine and accelerate the development of differentiated biologics.”

“At Merck, we are committed to advancing innovative approaches that improve the speed and rigor of drug discovery,” said Juan Alvarez, Ph.D., Vice President of Biologics Discovery, Merck Research Laboratories. “Infinimmune’s platform enables the discovery of antibodies directly from the human immune system, offering a compelling new way to access novel biology and promising therapeutic candidates.”