Infinimmune collaborates with Merck to discover novel human antibody therapeutics
Collaboration aims to discover and develop antibodies against multiple therapeutic targets designated by Merck
24 Apr 2026Industry news
Infinimmune, a biotechnology company pioneering antibody discovery and design, has announced a collaboration with Merck, to apply Infinimmune’s human-first antibody discovery platform to identify and develop antibody candidates against multiple undisclosed targets designated by Merck.
Under the agreement, Infinimmune will use its proprietary Anthrobody® discovery platform and GLIMPSE™ antibody language model to discover and optimize therapeutic antibodies derived directly from human immune repertoires. Merck will have the exclusive right to develop and commercialize antibody candidates arising from the collaboration.
The Infinimmune platform enables the screening of millions of single memory B cells across hundreds of potential targets, identifying natively paired antibody candidates and enabling the rapid identification of candidates with strong affinity, specificity, and favorable drug-like properties.
The platform integrates large-scale single-cell human immune repertoire screening with machine learning–guided antibody engineering to optimize potency, manufacturability, and developability.
Infinimmune has built one of the largest datasets of naturally occurring human antibodies and uses these data to identify and engineer therapeutic candidates with superior drug characteristics, including high specificity, extended half-life, and reduced immunogenicity.
The company is also advancing a pipeline of first- and best-in-class antibodies discovered directly from humans, including IFX-101, an IL-22 inhibitor, and IFX-201, an IL-13 inhibitor, under development for the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. Additional pipeline programs are being developed in inflammatory and immunology diseases, including monotherapies inhibiting APRIL, IL-17F, and others.
“We are excited to work with Merck to apply our platform to the discovery of novel antibody therapeutics,” said Dr. Wyatt McDonnell, CEO and co-founder, Infinimmune.
“By discovering antibodies directly from human immune systems and combining that biology with advanced AI-driven engineering, we can uncover therapeutic opportunities that traditional discovery approaches may not access. This collaboration allows us to scale our human-first discovery engine and accelerate the development of differentiated biologics.”
Dr. Juan Alvarez, Vice President of Biologics Discovery, Merck Research Laboratories, added, “At Merck, we are committed to advancing innovative approaches that improve the speed and rigor of drug discovery. Infinimmune’s platform enables the discovery of antibodies directly from the human immune system, offering a compelling new way to access novel biology and promising therapeutic candidates.”