OcellO B.V., a Contract Research Organization offering 3D cell based assay services for drug discovery, has entered an agreement to provide in vitro research services to Merus N.V., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing bispecific antibody therapeutics, for Merus’ MCLA-158 Biclonics program.

OcellO will provide €1 million of in vitro research services to Merus over a period of two years. OcellO will also utilize its 3D immune-oncology co-culture screening technology to support other undisclosed Merus Biclonics discovery programs.

Merus is developing MCLA-158 in Phase I in patients with solid tumors with an initial focus on metastatic colorectal cancer. MCLA-158 is designed to bind to cancer stem cells expressing leucine-rich repeat-containing G protein-coupled receptor 5 (Lgr5) and epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR).

“With this new commitment, Merus looks forward to extending its long-standing productive relationship with the OcellO team,” said Mark Throsby, chief scientific officer of Merus.

“This significant service agreement between OcellO and Merus enables OcellO to further invest in its technology platform – particularly for immune-oncology drug discovery – to meet the needs of Merus and other companies in the immune-oncology space,” said Leo Price, chief executive officer of OcellO.