On February 21, 2024 Vaccinex, Inc. (Nasdaq: VCNX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a differentiated approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease and cancer through the inhibition of SEMA4D, reported that it has entered into eight new antibody discovery agreements integrating use of its proprietary ActivMAb platform to select antibodies against difficult-to-drug transmembrane protein targets (Press release, Vaccinex, FEB 21, 2024, View Source [SID1234640337]).
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Within the last 3 months, Vaccinex has entered into new antibody discovery agreements for complex targets with 3 major pharma and biotech companies as well as 5 strategic relationships with other antibody service providers who have developed transgenic animal species for immunization or very large synthetic antibody libraries that complement our own technology. ActivMAb’s new "Antigen Virus" application is a powerful complement to drug discovery strategies targeting complex protein targets including ion channels and G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) such as chemokine receptors. Specific membrane targets are also key to development of antibody drug conjugates (ADC) for cancer, The ActivMAb system enables expression of functional, properly folded complex proteins on the relatively simple membrane of a mammalian virus. We believe that this is a much more highly purified presentation and efficient selection technology than the complex natural membrane fragments that have been termed virus-like particles.
"We have recently publicized success in selecting high value antibodies against challenging multi-pass membrane targets. We are excited to be able to capitalize on what we believe is recognition of the unique capabilities of our drug discovery technology. We believe recent interest in this technology may reflect increased market optimism and renewed attention to pipelines that were neglected during the biotech downturn of the past two years. Ongoing partnerships can leverage the full suite of our ActivMAb Antibody Discovery solutions to accelerate development of novel, high-value therapeutics", said Maurice Zauderer, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Vaccinex.
Vaccinex’s ActivMAb catalog and custom services are available through Science Exchange.
About ActivMAb
ActivMAb is a proprietary antibody discovery platform developed by Vaccinex with unique capabilities for multi-pass membrane targets such as G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The ActivMAb technology has multiple applications including: complex membrane antigen expression and presentation, antibody and antigen discovery, directed evolution and protein optimization. The first clinical candidate selected through use of this technology (CHS-114, a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting CCR8), is in clinical development for cancer immunotherapy by Coherus Biosciences, Inc.