Unlocking discovery of next-generation multispecific biologics for targeted cancer therapies

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Monoclonal antibodies have emerged as the Standard of Care for late-stage cancers; however, resistance (whether primary or acquired) is a major issue. Clinical efficacy of monospecific antibodies remains limited, particularly in the case of advanced solid tumours.Multispecific biologics show great promise in overcoming the treatment shortcomings of monospecific antibodies. With binding sites targeting multiple signalling pathways, multispecific antibodies decrease the likelihood of primary or acquired resistance and increase clinical efficacy, preventing and/or delaying pathogenesis. Most importantly, multispecific biologics enable new mechanisms of action to eradicate cancer cells, not otherwise possible with traditional antibodies. To date, seven bispecific antibodies have received market approval and over 50 are in clinical trials.However, the discovery of multispecific biologics remains severely restricted by the lack of high-throughput assembly and screening technologies for multispecifics. Discovery of multispecifics is further complicated by the number of potential targets, combinatorial binder/format spaces, and complex (often unknown) mechanisms of action.LiliumX is a UK-based start-up (SME), spun out from the University of Oxford in 2021, co-founded by Drs Arne Scheu and Irsyad Khairil. We have developed a transformative and proprietary platform technology for high-throughput assembly and screening of multispecific biologics. We have graduated from Y Combinator and Creative Destruction Lab, filed a patent application to protect our Universal Assembly Platform, and raised investment from leading venture capitalists.With Smart funding, we will further develop and validate the performance of our Universal Assembly Platform for multispecific biologics discovery, demonstrating that we can create viable assets, through the pipeline from discovery to _in vivo_ studies.For 50 years, the UK has led the world in developing monoclonal antibody drugs. Innovate UK Smart funding to develop and validate LiliumX's Universal Assembly Platform will position the UK to lead the way for the next 50 years, developing and commercialising next-generation multispecific biologics.