Starpharma announced it has signed a new DEP® Research Agreement with MSD, the trade name of Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA. This new agreement follows an earlier DEP® Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) agreement signed with MSD in February 2021. Under the new agreement, Starpharma will design and synthesize a number of DEP® dendrimer conjugates and will provide them to MSD for testing and characterisation.

ADCs are designed to incorporate the specific cell targeting property of antibodies with the cell killing properties of chemically conjugated drugs, to provide a targeted therapeutic with minimal off target toxicities. Starpharma has previously demonstrated the advantages of DEP® in ADCs in multiple programs. This Research Agreement covers a research project. Research fees are payable to Starpharma for the work completed under this agreement and Starpharma is not required to fund the program.

The initial term for this agreement is 12 months and the terms for this new agreement are the same as for the Research Agreement signed in February 2021. Each party maintains ownership of their own background intellectual property. The research fees under this agreement are not expected to be material.

The agreement is subject to industry standard performance and termination provisions. Starpharma has multiple DEP® partnerships with leading, international companies, including AstraZeneca, MSD, and Chase Sun, and the company's DEP® technology has already yielded four clinical-stage oncology products.