Alloy has more than 130 partners in the drug discovery ecosystem across academic, biotech, and large biopharma teams. Early in our history, we connected with Dren Bio, Inc., an emerging biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Northern California that specializes in the discovery of therapeutic antibodies engineered to selectively deplete pathologic cells and other disease-causing agents. Dren Bio’s pipeline encompasses two distinct drug discovery programs. Their initial product candidates are currently in development for the treatment of a variety of oncology and autoimmune diseases.
At the time we were introduced to the founders of Dren Bio, they were in the process of raising their first round of financing and were looking for an antibody discovery partner that was both affordable and agile. After considering multiple alternative solutions, the Dren Bio team ultimately selected Alloy for what they perceived as an accessible, transparent business model, notably one that did not include undue royalties for products that they discovered under our ATX-Gx™ license. After initially licensing the ATX-Gx mouse platform for use at one of our certified third-party service providers’ facilities, the team at Dren Bio eventually transitioned the work directly to Alloy, becoming one of the first customers for our Antibody Discovery Services offering that we launched in early 2020. Through close collaboration, our Alloy Discovery Services team was able to generate an antibody candidate that required no further optimization following initial discovery and characterization. From there, we made sure to remain responsive, offering materials and guidance to continue supporting the Dren Bio team’s internal efforts after shipment. Like all of our collaborations, we tried to treat the program like it was our own. Our CEO was never more than a text message away from Dren’s CEO if there were any questions.
“Alloy Discovery Services acted as a trusted partner and extension of our team, collaborating with us to optimize an antibody that has now become the lead product candidate for our Enhanced ADCC Program,” said Nenad Tomasevic, PhD, Dren Bio’s Founder and CEO.
Dren Bio has had an incredible run, assembling a highly experienced executive leadership team, securing an impressive $1 billion partnership with Pfizer using its Targeted Myeloid Engager and Phagocytosis Platform, and most recently this year clearing its first clinical IND application with the FDA. Alloy’s relationship with Dren Bio is a shining example of our commitment to providing robust antibody discovery services to companies possessing novel insights into disease biology and that are passionate about developing therapeutic antibodies against today’s most exciting targets.
If you are an early stage biotech looking to explore an ATX-Gx license or run a full discovery campaign with our services group, you can connect with our business development team here to learn more.
