REG - Fusion Antibodies - OptiMAL R&D Update

Fusion AntibodiesAnnouncement

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RNS Number : 5910Z  Fusion Antibodies PLC  17 September 2025

 

17 September 2025

 

Fusion Antibodies plc

("Fusion" or the "Company")

 

OptiMAL
(http://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/fusion-antibodies--fab/optimal-collaboration-agreement-/7906203)
(®
(http://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/fusion-antibodies--fab/optimal-collaboration-agreement-/7906203)
)
(http://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/fusion-antibodies--fab/optimal-collaboration-agreement-/7906203)
R&D
(http://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/fusion-antibodies--fab/optimal-collaboration-agreement-/7906203)
Update

 

Fusion Antibodies plc (AIM: FAB), specialists in pre-clinical antibody
discovery, engineering and supply for both therapeutic drug and diagnostic
applications, provides an update to the OptiMAL® project being performed
under the collaboration agreement (the "Agreement") with the National Cancer
Institute ("NCI").

 

The NCI Research Collaboration, which was originally announced on 28 November
2023, is due to continue until November 2025. However, the NCI has asked to
extend its use of the OptiMAL® platform for use against further targets in
the coming years. Negotiations are now underway to establish mutually
agreeable terms for an extended agreement.

 

In January 2025, Fusion announced that the NCI had identified a number of
antibody expressing cells as positively binding to their target of interest,
and that the Company would verify the binding of these cells. For the three
targets of interest that the NCI identified positive cells, we are pleased to
report that we have confirmed that the antibodies produced from these cells do
bind each of their respective targets. The antibodies have been expressed and
purified from independent cells and tested for their binding affinity in a
standard process. The binding affinities are within the range expected for
commercially viable antibodies including a number of hits with estimated
affinities in the single digit nM range. This exceeded our expectations and is
a good selling point for the OptiMAL® platform. In addition, Fusion has
supplied the NCI with these recombinantly produced antibodies, and the NCI has
validated their function against relevant human cells. The next steps are to
test the antibodies in cell-based assays at the NCI to evaluate their
potential to become therapeutic drug candidates.

 

The target antigens used included proteins and linear peptides, representing
two of the most commonly used antigen types. OptiMAL® proved to be successful
in identifying hits against both classes of antigen.

 

The screens have also identified weaker binders including antibodies with an
estimated affinity of >800nM demonstrating that even weaker binders can be
identified using OptiMAL®. Consequently, confirming the OptiMAL® platform's
suitability for use against a wide range of target product profiles including
those where less tight binding is required. At the other extreme, the Company
has used known antibodies of very high (pM) affinity and demonstrated that
these can also be recovered in the screening process. Combined, the results
achieved to date indicates the OptiMAL® platform to be suitable for a nearly
six-log dynamic range of affinities.

 

Together, this represents significant progress in the validation of OptiMAL®
as a platform for the isolation of specific antibodies against targets
selected by the NCI. Work continues within Fusion to further optimise and
expand the OptiMAL® platform.

 

NCI, part of the US National Institutes of Health, is the U.S. federal
government's principal agency for cancer research and training. Pursuant to
the Agreement, details of which were announced by the Company on 28 November
2023, Fusion has provided NCI with access to OptiMAL® for use in the
discovery of novel antibodies against targets selected by NCI.

 

Dr. Richard Buick, CSO of Fusion Antibodies plc, commented: "We are very happy
to report on the progress in securing validation of the OptiMAL® platform by
the NCI. The antibodies produced and purified by Fusion are now being tested
in cell-based assays at the NCI to verify if they have potential to become
therapeutic drug candidates."

 

Dr. Mitchell Ho, Deputy Chief, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National
Cancer Institute commented: "The OptiMAL® platform is performing very well in
our hands. Using the library, we have isolated binders for multiple antigens
in cancer, and my lab is currently evaluating their potential for cancer
therapy and/or diagnostics."

 

Dr. Adrian Kinkaid, CEO of Fusion Antibodies plc, commented: "We are extremely
pleased with the performance of the OptiMAL® platform to date. In some ways
it has exceeded our aspirations. It is also most gratifying that the NCI, our
key collaborators in the validation process, wish to continue using OptiMAL®
for years to come. I am confident this will help them fulfil their mission and
to progress multiple therapeutic and diagnostic projects targeting the widest
range of cancers."

 

As a reminder, Fusion will be hosting an in-person investor presentation this
afternoon at 2.30pm in Victoria, Central London. To register for details,
please email fusion@walbrookpr.com and state you would like to attend the
London event.

 

The Company will also be hosting an in-person investor presentation tomorrow,
18 September in Belfast. To register for details, please email
fusion@walbrookpr.com and state you would like to attend the Belfast event.

 

Navigate to our Interactive Investor hub here:
https://investorhub.fusionantibodies.com/
(https://investorhub.fusionantibodies.com/) . Engage with us by asking
questions, watching video summaries and seeing what other shareholders have to
say.

 

Enquiries:

 

 Investor questions on this announcement
 We encourage all investors to share questions on this announcement via our      https://investorhub.fusionantibodies.com/s/b8d633
 investor hub                                                                    (https://investorhub.fusionantibodies.com/s/b8d633)

 Fusion Antibodies plc                                                           www.fusionantibodies.com
 Adrian Kinkaid, Chief Executive Officer                                         Via Walbrook PR

 Stephen Smyth, Chief Financial Officer

 Allenby Capital Limited                                                         Tel: +44 (0) 20 3328 5656
 James Reeve/Vivek Bhardwaj (Corporate Finance)

 Tony Quirke/Joscelin Pinnington (Sales and Corporate Broking)

 Shard Capital Partners LLP
 Damon Heath (Joint Broker)                                                      Tel: +44 (0) 207 186 9952

 Walbrook PR                             Tel: +44 (0)20 7933 8780 or fusion@walbrookpr.com
                                         (mailto:fusion@walbrookpr.com)
 Anna Dunphy                                                                     Mob: +44 (0)7876 741 001

 

About Fusion Antibodies plc

 

Fusion is a Belfast based contract research organisation ("CRO") providing a
range of antibody engineering services for the development of antibodies for
both therapeutic drug and diagnostic applications.

 

The Company's ordinary shares were admitted to trading on AIM on 18 December
2017. Fusion provides a broad range of services in antibody generation,
development, production, characterisation and optimisation. These services
include antigen expression, antibody production, purification and sequencing,
antibody humanisation using Fusion's proprietary CDRx (TM) platform and the
production of antibody generating stable cell lines to provide material for
use in clinical trials. Since 2012, the Company has successfully sequenced
and expressed over 250 antibodies and successfully completed over 200
humanisation projects and has an international, blue-chip client base, which
has included eight of the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies by revenue.

 

The Company was established in 2001 as a spin out from Queen's University
Belfast. The Company's mission is to enable pharmaceutical and diagnostic
companies to develop innovative products in a timely and cost-effective manner
for the benefit of the global healthcare industry. Fusion Antibodies provides
a broad range of services in antibody generation, development, production,
characterisation and optimisation.

 

Fusion Antibodies growth strategy is based on combining the latest
technological advances with cutting edge science to deliver new platforms that
will enable Pharma and Biotech companies get to the clinic faster, with the
optimal drug candidate and ultimately speed up the drug development process.

 

 

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