ZURICH, Switzerland, July 13, 2026
VERAXA Biotech announced a strategic collaboration with AI-driven computational biology company Ardigen to accelerate discovery and development of its growing BiTAC® pipeline of T cell engagers (TCEs) and antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). The partnership combines Ardigen’s artificial intelligence and bioinformatics expertise with VERAXA’s in-house AI capabilities to identify and optimize cancer target pairs for conditionally active immunotherapies. The collaboration represents another milestone in VERAXA’s strategy to integrate artificial intelligence throughout its research and development process with the long-term objective of improving drug development success rates beyond current industry standards.
AI to Improve Dual-Target Selection for Precision Cancer Therapies
Current high-potency cancer therapies, including T cell engagers and antibody drug conjugates, often face development challenges due to on-target, off-tumor toxicities, limiting their therapeutic window and contributing to high clinical failure rates. VERAXA’s proprietary BiTAC platform addresses this challenge using a Boolean “AND-gate” mechanism that requires simultaneous expression of two distinct tumor-associated targets before activating immune cells. This conditional activation strategy is designed to selectively attack cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy tissues, potentially improving both treatment safety and efficacy across multiple oncology indications.
Collaboration Leverages AI to Unlock New Oncology Targets
Under the collaboration, Ardigen will develop AI-enabled computational tools and predictive models to guide identification of synergistic cancer target pairs for VERAXA’s expanding BiTAC portfolio. By integrating and analyzing extensive preclinical and clinical datasets generated across the biopharmaceutical industry, the platform aims to identify target combinations that may overcome toxicity limitations observed in previous drug candidates. The companies believe this approach could help optimize therapeutic design, improve target validation, and potentially revive promising oncology targets that were previously considered unsuitable for development due to safety concerns.
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VERAXA Expands AI Strategy to Strengthen Oncology Pipeline
The collaboration reinforces VERAXA’s commitment to building an AI-powered oncology research platform capable of accelerating precision medicine development. The company’s antibody-based therapeutic pipeline includes next-generation bispecific T cell engagers, bispecific ADCs, and additional innovative antibody formats derived from scientific discoveries at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). By integrating advanced artificial intelligence into target discovery and candidate selection, VERAXA aims to enhance the efficiency of oncology drug development while expanding treatment options for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers.
Source: VERAXA Biotech, press release
