VERAXA Biotech (NASDAQ: VRXA) announced the advancement of its bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (“bsADC”) program, VXA-222, after reaching a key technical milestone in its collaboration with OmniAb. The company said OmniAb has successfully completed its discovery work, allowing the program to move into its next phase. VXA-222 is designed to target two tumor antigens with a single molecule using an “AND-gate” approach intended to improve precision in treating solid tumors.
Under the collaboration launched in May 2025, OmniAb provided antibody discovery technologies, including its OmniClic platform, while VERAXA is applying its proprietary linker technology and conjugation expertise to develop and validate the lead bsADC candidate. VERAXA holds exclusive rights to develop and commercialize products arising from the collaboration, with OmniAb entitled to a share of specified revenue generated from resulting products.
The advancement of VXA-222 represents a significant step in the development of next-generation antibody-based therapeutics. The bispecific ADC approach, which uses an “AND-gate” logic, aims to increase tumor selectivity and reduce off-target effects compared to traditional ADCs. By targeting two antigens simultaneously, the therapy may improve precision in treating solid tumors, a challenging area in oncology where many existing treatments have limited efficacy or significant side effects.
For the biotechnology industry, this milestone underscores the potential of collaborative models in accelerating drug discovery. The partnership between VERAXA and OmniAb combines specialized platforms—OmniAb’s antibody discovery technologies and VERAXA’s linker and conjugation expertise—to create novel therapeutic candidates. This could serve as a blueprint for future collaborations aiming to tackle complex diseases.
For patients, particularly those with solid tumors, the successful development of VXA-222 could eventually provide a more targeted treatment option with potentially fewer side effects. Solid tumors account for the majority of cancer cases, and therapies that can precisely target cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue are in high demand. The “AND-gate” mechanism is designed to ensure that the drug is active only in the presence of both target antigens, which are often co-expressed on tumor cells but not on normal cells.
VERAXA Biotech, founded on scientific breakthroughs at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), is building a pipeline of ADCs and proprietary BiTAC formats. The company’s focus on quality-by-design principles and transformative technologies positions it to advance multiple candidates into clinical development. The latest news and updates relating to VRXA are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/VRXA.
While VXA-222 has reached a key milestone, it remains in early-stage development, and further studies will be needed to evaluate its safety and efficacy. The forward-looking statements in this article involve risks and uncertainties, as detailed in the company’s filings with the SEC. Investors are advised to review these documents for a full understanding of potential risks. The full press release can be viewed at https://ibn.fm/qMRuJ.
