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news.Theraclone Sciences, a therapeutic antibody discovery and development company, has announced the publication of data in the May issue of Immunity regarding antibodies with significant potency and breadth against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
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The study, titled "Broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies define a novel glycan-dependent epitope on the pre-fusion conformation of gp41 on cleaved envelope trimers," describes a set of recently isolated human monoclonal antibodies that target a region of HIV that differs from the epitopes recognized by broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) discovered previously.
The work, conducted in collaboration with The Scripps Research Institute and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), expands upon the isolation and characterization of other bNAbs discovered by these collaborative institutions.
The bNAbs were discovered using Theraclone’s I-STAR™ technology. I-STAR leverages the ability of some humans to naturally resist certain diseases and rapidly examines their immune memory cells for antibodies with exceptional biological activity.
Theraclone chief scientific officer Dr Kristine Swiderek noted I-STAR has demonstrated significant potential in the hunt for antibodies that broadly neutralize HIV.
"In particular, one of the Theraclone antibodies discovered under our collaboration with IAVI and Scripps was recently shown to completely suppress HIV in simian models of disease.
"We are optimistic that these antibodies will contribute to the creation of an HIV vaccine that could be used prophylactically and therapeutically," Dr Swiderek added.
IAVI holds the rights to develop HIV vaccines based on these antibodies, while Theraclone maintains the rights to develop therapeutics.