Merck’s CHOZN® Expression System Selected for Bi-specific Antibody Development by SystImmune

• Accelerates development timelines with faster, easier selection and scale up of clones
• Delivers higher titers of recombinant proteins

Darmstadt, Germany, May 16, 2017 — Merck today announced that its CHOZN® expression system will be used by SystImmune, a Seattle-based biotechnology company, for commercial development of a bi-specific antibody therapeutic.

The CHOZN® expression system is designed to deliver manufacturing-ready robust and stable producing clones with a workflow that minimizes the resources needed to complete a cell line development project. As a result, users are able to quickly evaluate more molecules in their pipeline.

“When compared with alternate expression systems, our CHOZN® system offers a turnkey solution that consistently delivers shortened development timelines,” said Udit Batra, Member of the Merck Executive Board and CEO, Life Science.

Merck’s CHOZN® expression system is based on a GS -/- Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line.

“With only two scientists in our cell science department, we were able to generate more than 10 stable cell lines using this platform in a single year,” said Camilla Wang, Scientist, SystImmune. “The CHOZN® platform outperformed other systems in many ways. It is easy to use, requires less time to generate final single cell clones, and most of all, the expression level is consistently higher compared to the other approaches.”

Along with the CHOZN® cells, Merck provides an expression vector, extensive user protocols, a comprehensive cell line history document and paired cGMP media and feeds. Services are offered for cell line development in the CHOZN® expression system. Merck also offers gene engineering services using its CompoZr™ zinc finger nuclease technology to engineer CHO cell lines with characteristics attractive to biopharmaceutical developers and manufacturers, including resistance to Centinel™ technology.

About Merck

Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science, and electronics. Around 58,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people’s lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene-editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2020, Merck generated sales of € 17.5 billion in 66 countries.

Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Merck’s technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma in life science, and EMD Electronics.