Merck’s CHOZN® Expression System Selected for Bispecific Antibody...

• Acceleratesdevelopmenttimelineswithfaster,easierselectionandscaleupofclones
• Delivershighertitersofrecombinantproteins

Darmstadt,Germany,May16,2017 — Merck todayannouncedthatitsCHOZN®expressionsystemwillbeusedbySystImmune,aSeattle-basedbiotechnologycompany,forcommercialdevelopmentofabi-specificantibodytherapeutic.

TheCHOZN®expressionsystemisdesignedtodelivermanufacturing-readyrobustandstableproducingcloneswithaworkflowthatminimizestheresourcesneededtocompleteacelllinedevelopmentproject.Asaresult,usersareabletoquicklyevaluatemoremoleculesintheirpipeline.

“Whencomparedwithalternateexpressionsystems,ourCHOZN®systemoffersaturnkeysolutionthatconsistentlydeliversshorteneddevelopmenttimelines,”saidUditBatra,MemberoftheMerckExecutiveBoardandCEO, LifeScience.

Merck’sCHOZN®expressionsystemisbasedonaGS-/-Chinesehamsterovary(CHO)cellline.

“Withonlytwoscientistsinourcellsciencedepartment,wewereabletogeneratemorethan10stablecelllinesusingthisplatforminasingleyear,”saidCamillaWang,Scientist,SystImmune.“TheCHOZN®platformoutperformedothersystemsinmanyways.Itiseasytouse,requireslesstimetogeneratefinalsinglecellclones,andmostofall,theexpressionlevelisconsistentlyhighercomparedtotheotherapproaches.”

AlongwiththeCHOZN®cells,Merckprovidesanexpressionvector,extensiveuserprotocols,acomprehensivecelllinehistorydocumentandpairedcGMPmediaandfeeds.ServicesareofferedforcelllinedevelopmentintheCHOZN®expressionsystem.MerckalsooffersgeneengineeringservicesusingitsCompoZr™zincfingernucleasetechnologytoengineerCHOcelllineswithcharacteristicsattractivetobiopharmaceuticaldevelopersandmanufacturers,includingresistanceto Centinel™technology.

AboutMerck

MerckisaleADIngscienceandtechnologycompanyinhealthcare,lifescienceandperformancematerials.Around50,000employeesworktofurtherdeveloptechnologiesthatimproveandenhancelife–frombiopharmaceuticaltherapiestotreatcancerormultiplesclerosis,cutting-edgesystemsforscientificresearchandproduction,toliquidcrystalsforsmartphonesandLCDtelevisions.In2016,Merckgeneratedsalesof€15.0billionin66countries.

Foundedin1668,Merckistheworld"soldestpharmaceuticalandchemicalcompany.Thefoundingfamilyremainsthemajorityownerofthepubliclylistedcorporategroup.MerckholdstheglobalrightstotheMercknameandbrand.TheonlyexceptionsaretheUnitedStatesandCanada,wherethecompanyoperatesasEMDSEROno,MilliporeSigmaandEMDPerformanceMaterials.