Date: 2011-08-12
Type of information:
Compound:
Company: Lonza (Switzerland) ImmuneMed (South Korea)
Therapeutic area: Infectious diseases
Type agreement: services
Action mechanism:
Disease:
Details: Lonza has announced an agreement with a South Korean Biotechnology company, ImmuneMed, for the in silico screening followed by deimmunization of their Virus Suppressing Factor (VSF), under investigation for the treatment of viruses such as the encephalomyocarditus, influenza and hepatitis. Lonza’s Epibase™ v.3 in silico Screening Platform incorporates the most recent experimentally generated binding affinities of peptides to the HLA receptor, as well as the characteristics of the latest 3D structures of HLA receptors. Data obtained from the in silico screening will be used to deimmunize the humanized VSF. Virus Suppression Factor is a highly active anti-viral protein that has shown superior anti-viral activities exceeding those of known cytokines on the market today. VSF is produced in the body, similar to Interferon, however the broad spectrum of potential treatment of VSF is unprecedented as compared to any single anti-viral agent.
Under the agreement, Lonza will perform an immunogenicity risk assessment using their latest version (v.3) of their T-cell epitope prediction engine, Epibase™. This assessment will help reduce ImmuneMed’s attrition rate in their drug development program. The pre-clinical assessment will be performed at Lonza’s protein services and development facility in Cambridge, UK.
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