Mymetics Corp (MYMX)

[Work Harder]

Nice snag

The dIgA1 version could bind twice as many virus particles as the dIgA2 version. “That was a Eureka moment,” Ruprecht says, adding that the dIgA1 version can bind more virions because of its shape. Its antigen binding sites, which are located at the end of the arms of the “Y” of the antibody molecule, are further apart from each other than the antigen binding sites of dIgA2. As a result, dIgA1 can accommodate four viruses between its antigen binding sites, while dIgA2 can only accommodate two.

This also explains why dIgA1 fared best in another experiment: In contrast to dIgA2 and IgG1, only dIgA1 was able to keep most HIV particles from crossing a cultured epithelial cell layer in a so-called “transcytosis” assay, which simulates the crossing of HIV through the kind of epithelial cell layer found at mucosal surfaces.

These results suggest that vaccine developers should try to find vaccines that can coax the body’s immune system to produce mucosal HIV-specific dimeric and multimeric IgA1 antibodies, says Ruprecht. Such antibodies don’t necessarily have to be neutralizing, because it was dIgA1’s ability to bind more HIV particles—not to better neutralize the virus—that was responsible for the better protection by dIgA1 in the study.

“The very next question is, how can you best induce these types of protective mucosal responses?” says Ruprecht.

https://www.genengnews.com/topics/translational-medicine/vir-grows-with-500m-in-financing-humabs-acquisition-two-up-to-1b-collaborations/

Vir Grows with $500M in Financing, Humabs Acquisition, Two Up-to-$1B Collaborations

Vir has acquired Humabs BioMed, a Swiss discoverer and developer of fully human monoclonal antibodies to treat serious infections, for an undisclosed price.

Vir also announced agreements of undisclosed value with four academic research institutions:
Stanford University—Vir has licensed artificial intelligence technology designed to mine gene expression data for early diagnostic predictions and target discovery.
Harvard University—Under a five-year strategic research alliance, Vir agreed to foster scientific collaboration with Harvard and provide financial support for innovative research projects in infectious diseases, to which Vir will have exclusive access to negotiate licenses.
Oregon Health & Science University—Vir expanded an existing relationship with OHSU to include additional sponsored research. OHSU remains a key partner, Vir said, in the development of its cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine platform.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center—Vir and Fred Hutch have inked a sponsored research agreement focused on cell therapy.