Ardigen and VERAXA Biotech announce AI-enabled drug discovery collaboration
Ardigen’s AI and computational biology capabilities will support VERAXA’s BiTAC® pipeline of T cell engagers and antibody-drug conjugates, helping optimize cancer target pair selection for conditionally active therapies.
Ardigen S.A., an AI-driven computational partner for modern R&D, today announced a collaboration with VERAXA Biotech AG (NASDAQ: VRXA), an emerging leader in designing novel cancer therapies, to support VERAXA’s growing BiTAC® pipeline of T cell engagers (TCEs) and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).
The collaboration centers on developing AI-enabled tools and models to support the selection of synergistic cancer target pairs for VERAXA’s proprietary BiTAC platform. Ardigen brings 11 years of experience in computational biology, machine learning, bioinformatics, and scalable data systems to help VERAXA integrate and interpret complex biomedical data in support of more precise therapeutic design.
Why target pair selection matters
High-potency modalities like TCEs and ADCs are frequently limited by severe on-target, off-tumor toxicities — a major contributor to high failure rates in development. VERAXA’s BiTAC-TCEs and future BiTAC-ADCs use Boolean “AND-gate” logic, requiring the co-expression of two distinct targets on the same cancer cell for activation. The approach has the potential to widen the therapeutic window by sparing healthy tissue and reducing systemic toxicity.
With the BiTAC platform, VERAXA aims to leverage existing preclinical and clinical data generated across the industry — including from programs that showed promising efficacy but were limited by toxicity. AI-enabled analysis can support the integration of these large, complex datasets to identify improved dual-target combinations, refine therapeutic design, and evaluate target pair hypotheses with greater precision.
Leadership perspectives
“Selecting the right target combinations is one of the most critical challenges in developing conditionally active cancer therapies”, said Michał Warchoł, CTO at Ardigen. “This collaboration with VERAXA allows us to apply Ardigen’s AI, bioinformatics, and computational biology solutions to improve target pair selection for next-generation antibody-based therapeutics. Our goal is to translate complex biomedical data into actionable insights, supporting better-informed decisions earlier in the R&D process.”
“We see enormous potential in the application of AI processes to help guide the development strategy of our proprietary BiTAC programs,” commented Christoph Antz, Ph.D., CEO and Co-Founder of VERAXA. “Because of the nature of BiTACs, smart cancer target selection and thorough validation from the outset can have a transformative impact on future success rates and product profiles. This collaboration represents a strategic step forward in harnessing the power of AI to bring precision oncology therapies to patients faster.”
About VERAXA Biotech AG
VERAXA Biotech AG is developing a discovery and development engine for next-generation antibody-based therapeutics, including bispecific T cell engagers, bispecific ADCs, and other innovative formats. Powered by a suite of transformative technologies and guided by quality-by-design principles, VERAXA is advancing a pipeline of ADCs and proprietary BiTAC formats toward clinical development and beyond. The company was founded on scientific breakthroughs made at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, a world-renowned institution known for life science research and advanced technology. For more information about VERAXA Biotech, visit veraxa.com
