F-star, a Cambridge, UK-based biopharmaceutical company developing bispecific antibodies, has entered into an agreement with CMC Biologics, a contract biologics manufacturer, for GMP manufacturing of its lead mAb² program, FS118, ahead of future clinical studies. A mAb² is a full-length bispecific antibody with a normal antibody structure in which the Fc region has been replaced by an Fcab (Fc constant region of an antibody modified by introducing a new antigen binding site).

According to F-star, the mAb²format has the advantage of maintaining the ease of manufacturing and structural properties of an ordinary antibody while at the same time enabling novel biology to outperform monoclonal antibodies.

FS118 is a bispecific antibody >targeting two checkpoint inhibitor pathways with the potential to deliver greater efficacy and tolerability than combinations or monotherapies across a wide range of tumors.

Source: F-star