..Author: dev_872936j4

Today, Crossbeta Biosciences and AdAlta announced that they have established a collaborative relationship in which AdAlta will deploy its i-body technology to develop oligomer-specific i-bodies for therapeutic and diagnostic applications in Alzheimer’s disease using Crossbeta’s stabilized beta-amyloid oligomers.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, primarily affecting people above the age of 60. Over 26 million people are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease today, a number that is projected to triple over the coming 40 years. Alzheimer’s disease remains to be an area of great unmet need with huge and growing social and economic impact. Beta-amyloid oligomers are implicated in Alzheimer’s disease pathology and there is no effective treatment yet.

AdAlta’s innovative i-body technology represents the next generation of biological therapeutics merging the highly selective specificity of antibodies with the advantages of drug-like molecules, such as small size and extreme stability. This combination provides AdAlta’s i-bodies with unique favourable properties for their application as therapeutic as well as for diagnostic purposes.

Crossbeta’s oligomer-stabilizing technology generates robust, well-defined oligomers, thus solving the problems related to the elusive nature of oligomer preparations. The stabilized oligomers can be purified to remove monomers and fibrils. The resulting homogeneous oligomers are stable while their pathological functionality is maintained, making them highly suitable tools for the discovery and development of disease-modifying drugs.

“Crossbeta’s novel approach provides an alternative for the identification and development of i-bodies for Alzheimer’s disease”, commented AdAlta’s CEO, Samantha Cobb.

Guus Scheefhals, CEO of Crossbeta Biosciences, added: “AdAlta’s i-body technology offers an exciting novel opportunity for Alzheimer drug development. We are very pleased to be working with AdAlta and applying the Crossbeta oligomer technology to identify novel treatments and diagnostics for Alzheimer’s disease.

 

About Crossbeta Biosciences:

Crossbeta Biosciences is a biotech company owning a proprietary technology platform for efficient oligomer-based drug discovery with applications in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and other misfolded protein diseases. The Crossbeta technology enables the generation of well-defined stable, soluble and pathologically functional oligomers. These stable oligomers allow for Crossbeta to develop robust assays enabling fast, efficient and de-risked compound library screening for the discovery of drug candidates. The platform can identify hit compounds that have the ability to reduce oligomer toxicity either by specifically interacting with the oligomers or by inhibition of particular receptors implicated in mediating oligomer toxicity. Crossbeta has demonstrated the unique capabilities of its technology platform with beta amyloid oligomers which play an important role in Alzheimer’s disease. Crossbeta has successfully identified several compounds that inhibit the toxicity of these oligomers.

Crossbeta Biosciences is open to research collaborations and early partnerships; Crossbeta, furthermore, provides services based on its proprietary technology to develop new oligomer targets and related screening assays.

 

About AdAlta Pty Ltd:

AdAlta is pioneering a new technology that uses the human equivalent of the shark antibody, known as the i-body that can be used as therapeutic interventions in disease, offering a new and more effective approach to a wide range of human diseases. The novel i-body libraries can be screened in the lab against a disease target to identify a therapeutic lead candidate. I-bodies show high target specificity and high affinity for their target. The i-bodies are stable at high temperatures and low pH and can be manufactured in bacterial systems. In addition to the stability, the i-body has a long binding loop that human antibodies and other next generation antibodies do not have. The i-body with this long binding loop can target sites that traditionally antibodies can’t, such as clefts in cell surface receptors or the active sites of enzymes or targets such as GPCRs and ion channel targets.

 

For further information:

Crossbeta Biosciences BV

Guus Scheefhals , CEO

Phone +31 30 253 2668

g.scheefhals@crossbeta.com

www.crossbeta.com

 

AdAlta Pty Ltd

Samantha Cobb, CEO and Managing Director

Phone +61 3 9479 5159

s.cobb@adalta.com.au

www.adalta.com.au

Victorian based biotechnology company AdAlta and Ferring Research Institute Inc. (FRI), have been awarded a $50,000 Technology Development Voucher by the Victorian Government to evaluate the use of AdAlta’s technology in research into potential treatments for Crohn’s disease.

FRI, the USA-based research division of Ferring Pharmaceuticals, a Switzerland-based global pharmaceutical company, will work with AdAlta to identify a novel therapeutic for the treatment of Crohn’s disease, a type of inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract.  The Technology Voucher will allow FRI to test AdAlta’s i-body technology, which represents the next generation of biological therapeutics.

AdAlta’s i-body technology combines the advantages of small drug-like molecules with the specificity of antibodies.  The i-body has a number of advantages, including small size and extreme stability, which allow unique application in the delivery of therapeutic compounds.

This project will establish a new collaborative relationship between a Victorian biotechnology company and an international biopharmaceutical company. If the project is successful and clearly demonstrates technical application of AdAlta i-body technology to FRI’s drug target, it is likely to lead to a broader strategic collaboration, including manufacture and testing of the compounds, and integration of the i-body technology into the Ferring product pipeline.  

About AdAlta

AdAlta is pioneering a new technology that uses the human equivalent of the shark antibody, known as the i-body that can be used as therapeutic interventions in disease, offering a new and more effective approach to a wide range of human diseases. The novel i-body libraries can be screened in the lab against a disease target to identify a therapeutic lead candidate. I-bodies show high target specificity and high affinity for their target. The i-bodies are stable at high temperatures and low pH and can be manufactured in bacterial systems. In addition to the stability, the i-body has a long binding loop that human antibodies and other next generation antibodies do not have. The i-body with this long binding loop can target sites that traditionally antibodies can’t, such as clefts in cell surface receptors or the active sites of enzymes or targets such as GPCRs and ion channel targets.

AdAlta Pty Ltd

CONTACT: Samantha Cobb, CEO and Managing Director

PHONE: +61 3 9479 5159

E-MAIL: s.cobb@adalta.com.au

WEB: http://www.adalta.com.au/home.aspx

AdAlta Pty Ltd (AdAlta), a Melbourne based biotechnology company specialising in the discovery and development of protein based therapeutics, has executed a collaborative research agreement today with Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Research Institute to identify humanised shark antibody binders, known as i-bodies, to a number of anti-thrombotic targets.

AdAlta will screen its i-body library on the anti-thrombotic drug targets in collaboration with Baker IDI and the Institute will then evaluate the potential of the i-body binders as diagnostic and therapeutic drugs.

Baker IDI is working on the next generation targets that will prevent clotting, or dissolve clots that have caused a heart attack or stroke without the excessive bleeding complications that are a feature of currently available drugs. Baker IDI is also working towards the identification of biomarkers (such as elevated levels of certain proteins in the blood) which, when added to existing knowledge of family history and lifestyle risk, help predict coronary plaque rupture.

Targeting of thrombolytic drugs to clots with AdAlta’s i-body technology is a promising alternative approach to create fibrinolytic agents with enhanced thrombolytic potency, less bleeding problems and tuneable half life for diagnostic imaging or therapeutic application and may thus represent a potential way out of the current stagnation in thrombolysis.

“We are excited to be working with Baker IDI in this area to apply the i-body technology to the Institute’s targets” said Samantha Cobb, CEO of AdAlta.

“We are looking forward to a productive collaboration and exciting work with AdAlta” said Prof Karlheinz Peter and Dr Christoph Hagemeyer, the two lead scientists on this project from Baker IDI.

“We have selected targets with high clinical relevance and feel that humanised shark antibodies have a great potential as next generation therapeutics and diagnostics in the cardiovascular field. We hope to develop better drugs for the treatment of heart attacks and to ultimately prevent heart attacks through the identification of the patient at risk.”

AdAlta is pioneering a new technology that uses the human equivalent of the shark antibody, known as the i-body, that can be used as therapeutic interventions or diagnostic markers in disease, offering optimistic prospects for new and more effective approaches to a wide range of human diseases.

These novel i-body libraries can be screened in the lab against a target to identify a diagnostic or therapeutic lead candidate. I-bodies show high target specificity and high affinity for their target. Furthermore, they are extremely stable and ideally suited as imaging agents or as therapeutic drugs.

 

About AdAlta

AdAlta Pty Ltd (AdAlta) is an Australian based biotechnology company discovering and developing protein based therapeutics. AdAlta aims to provide an alternative approach to drug discovery by finding novel shark antibody or i-bodies for therapeutic or diagnostic application.

Like conventional antibodies, shark antibodies have high target specificity and high affinity for their target. An i-body is a based on a human protein which has similar structure to the shark antibody. AdAlta uses this human protein as a scaffold to build a library of compounds with unique features similar to the shark antibody. The i-bodies are stable at high temperatures and low pH and can be manufactured in bacterial systems. In addition to the stability, the i-body has a long binding loop that human antibodies and other next generation antibodies do not have. The i-body with this long binding loop can target sites that traditionally antibodies can’t, such as clefts in cell surface receptors or the active sites of enzymes or targets such as GPCRs.

AdAlta Pty Ltd

Contact: Samantha Cobb, CEO
Tel: +61 3 9479 5159

http://www.adalta.com.au/home.aspx

 

About Baker IDI

Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute is an independent, internationally-renowned medical research facility, with a history spanning more than 85 years. The Institute’s work extends from the laboratory to wide-scale community studies with a focus on diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The Institute’s mission is to reduce death and disability from cardiovascular disease, diabetes and related disorders; two prevalent and complex diseases responsible for the most deaths and the highest health costs in the world.

Baker IDI

Media contact: Christina Hickie

Tel: 03 8532 1129 or 0417 130 420

www.bakeridi.edu.au

AdAlta Pty Ltd (AdAlta), a Melbourne based biotechnology company specialising in the discovery and development of protein based therapeutics, signed an agreement today with international pharma company, Roche to evaluate and identify shark antibody binders.

“We are excited about working with Roche in this area to validate the advantages of the AdAlta shark antibodies in the diagnostic field,” said Samantha Cobb, CEO of AdAlta.

AdAlta will screen its shark antibody library as part of the collaboration with Roche and provide Roche the identified shark antibody binders for further evaluation.

AdAlta is pioneering a new technology that uses modified shark antibodies that can be used as therapeutic interventions or diagnostic markers in disease, offering prospects for new and more effective approaches to a wide range of human diseases.

The process involves taking genes from sharks and modifying them in a laboratory by inserting random sequences – essentially mimicking the way the human immune system works – to develop antibodies capable of a repertoire of defensive responses. These novel libraries can then be screened in the lab against a target to identify a diagnostic or therapeutic lead candidate.

Sharks possess fully functional antibodies that unlike traditional mammalian antibody molecules consist of a single variable domain. Shark antibodies show high target specificity and high affinity for their target. Furthermore, they are extremely stable and may overcome some of the problems encountered with traditional antibodies when stored and used at high temperatures. 

 

About AdAlta

AdAlta Pty Ltd (AdAlta) is an Australian based biotechnology company discovering and developing protein based therapeutics. AdAlta aims to provide an alternative approach to drug discovery by finding novel shark antibody or i-bodies for therapeutic or diagnostic application.

Like conventional antibodies, shark antibodies have high target specificity and high affinity for their target. Shark antibodies however have evolved to be smaller in size and more stable. An i-body is based on a human protein which has a similar structure to the shark antibody. AdAlta uses this human protein as a scaffold to build a library of compounds with unique features similar to the shark antibody.

We have found that both the shark antibody and i-body are stable at high temperatures and low pH. Due to this greater stability, shark antibodies can be manufactured in bacterial systems and because of their stability they also have the ability to be administered in alternative ways to current therapeutic antibodies.  In addition to the greater stability, the shark antibody and i-body have a long binding loop that human antibodies and other next generation antibodies do not have. The shark antibody with this long binding loop can target sites that traditionally antibodies can’t, such as clefts in cell surface receptors or the active sites of enzymes or targets such as GPCRs.

AdAlta is seeking partnering opportunities with companies who require binders to a specific target. We are actively pursuing value-creating partnerships with research institutes, biotech and pharmaceutical companies, with an aim to identify qualified leads for therapeutic, imaging and diagnostics products.

 

AdAlta Pty Ltd

CONTACT: Samantha Cobb, CEO
PHONE: +61 3 9479 5159
E-MAIL: s.cobb@adalta.com.au
WEB: http://www.adalta.com.au/home.aspx

AdAlta Pty Ltd (AdAlta) has had its key patent granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office which protects the development of i-bodies.

The patent, entitled “Binding moieties based on shark IgNAR domains”, provides an exclusivity period until June 2025. The patent specifically covers a method of modifying a number of human proteins called I-set domains to include features of the shark single domain antibody. In addition to this newly granted patent in the US, AdAlta has other granted patents in Australia and patents pending in Europe, Japan and Canada.

i-bodies are a new class of therapeutic proteins that contain the unique structural and functional properties of the single domain shark antibody. AdAlta is focused on developing the i-body based therapeutics against various disease targets exploiting some of the key benefits i-bodies have over conventional antibodies and other antibody fragments.

Sam Cobb, CEO of AdAlta said “The grant of this broad patent for AdAlta underpins our current platform, which we are continuing to develop and this grant in such a commercially important region is an important milestone for us.”

AdAlta is a biotechnology company committed to the discovery, development and commercialization of the i-body platform for therapeutic use. AdAlta aims to provide an alternative approach to drug discovery by candidates from its various libraries for disease conditions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT

Samantha Cobb

CEO and Managing Director

Phone: +61 407 899 867

Email: s.cobb@adalta.com.au

WEB: www.adalta.com.au

AdAlta Pty Ltd, a next generation antibody company, will continue turning sharks — the predators of the ocean — into life savers following an investment led by venture capital firm Yuuwa Capital LP and including members of the Brisbane Angels, the BioAngels in Adelaide and existing AdAlta shareholders.  This is Yuuwa Capital’s third investment and its first in the life science field.

AdAlta scientists have used the immune system of sharks and their human based analogues to generate antibody libraries of over 8 billion compounds to be applied in the fight against diseases such as cancer.   AdAlta owns intellectual property (IP) relating to the single domain shark antibodies and their human counterparts known as i-bodies. I-bodies have similar properties of the shark antibody including affinity, specificity and stability, however because they are based on a human proteinthe body is less likely to reject them with its own immune system.

There are currently 23 approved antibody-based products with sales forecast to exceed $50 billion per annum over the next few years with novel antibodies representing half of all drugs entering clinical development.

AdAlta’s approach is to make human therapeutics based on antibodies from sharks and the i-bodies.   Shark antibodies and i-bodies have a unique structure with the potential to bind molecules not able to be targeted by human antibodies.

Yuuwa Capital Investment Director James Williams explained, “We are pleased to back the AdAlta team and their next generation antibody platform.  Sharks are the oldest creatures known to produce antibodies, and AdAlta has captured the benefits of these unique molecules as a true platform for developing human therapeutics. The Company has generated some impressive data to date, and we are excited about the prospects for the future.”

AdAlta CEO Samantha Cobb commented “This investment supports AdAlta in its activities including licensing of its novel shark antibody and i-body libraries to pharmaceutical companies and screening the libraries on key targets to identify drug candidates for development.”  Visit www.adalta.com.aufor more information.

Yuuwa Capital LP is a $40 million early-stage venture capital firm based in Perth and backed by local investors and the Australian Government’s Innovation Investment Fund program. Yuuwa seeks to invest in businesses where it can provide both capital and expertise to help founders, management and early investors turn good ideas into great companies.

 

AdAlta Pty Ltd
Samantha Cobb, CEO
Tel: +61 3 9479 5159
E-mail: s.cobb@adalta.com.au

 

Yuuwa Capital LP
James Williams, Investment Director

Email: james@yuuwa.com.au

Liddy McCall, Investment Director

Email: liddy@yuuwa.com.au