Boston, June 24, 2024 - Immunocan announces the completion of constructing its fully human common light chain antibody discovery platform, ImmuMab Light® mouse. This new platform will further enhance Immunocan's antibody discovery capabilities and make the development of fully human IgG-like bispecific antibodies easier.
Since the first work on bispecific antibody (BsAb) generation published in 1961, 15 bispecific antibody drugs have been approved, and various bispecific molecules are in clinical development. These antibodies are categorized into IgG-like and non-IgG-like bispecific antibodies based on their structure. IgG-like bispecific antibodies are favored due to their biological functions and advantageous pharmacokinetic properties provided by the Fc region. However, IgG-like bispecific antibodies frequently face challenges such as Heavy-Light chain mispairing, low yields of target bispecific antibodies, and complex manufacturing processes.
The common light chain technology addresses the issue of Heavy-Light chain mispairing by using a common light chain that can pair with multiple different heavy chains to construct bispecific antibody molecules. Roche's HEMLIBRA® (Emicizumab), the first marketed antibody developed with the common light chain strategy, has generated over ten billion dollars for Roche since its launch.
Immunocan designed ImmuMab Light® mouse by selecting the desired Kappa light chain V gene from human immune repertoire. The mouse was then constructed by directed modification of the light chain variable region of human antibody germline in ImmuMab® mouse. ImmuMab Light® mouse can generate candidate molecules using the same Kappa light chain V gene and J gene upon immunization with different antigens, successfully building a human common light chain antibody generation platform.
Due to limited light chain diversity, the diversity of heavy chains in common light chain mouse determines the platform’s performance. The ImmuMab Light® mouse maintains the highly efficient humanized heavy chain loci from the parental ImmuMab® mouse and is expected to yield higher serum titers and immune repertoire diversity compared to similar platforms. Additionally, Immunocan will provide alternative subtype mouse for common light chain antibody generation based on different light chain V genes. By this expanded capability to meet the needs of different projects with various targets and target antibody profiles, the chances of successfully constructing superior bispecific antibody molecule will be further enhanced.
In addition to ImmuMab Light® mouse, Immunocan has already constructed platforms including ImmuMab® mouse generating fully human antibody, ImmuMab Heavy® mouse generating fully human heavy-chain-only antibody (HCAb), and ImmuAlpaca® mouse generating alpaca-derived antibody. ImmuHeavy® Rabbit is currently under construction to generate rabbit heavy-chain-only antibodies. By continuously innovating in-vivo antibody discovery platforms, Immunocan aims to help partners accelerate the development of novel therapeutics.
Immunocan's multi-species antibody generation strategy not only expands the potential for antibody discovery and development but also provides more therapeutic options for treating complex diseases. Immunocan is looking forward to introducing its innovative antibody discovery platforms to global research partners and seek collaboration to bring safer and more effective therapeutic products to patients worldwide.
About the Massive-fragment Across Species In-situ Replacement Technology (MASIRT®)
Immunocan's core technology features one-step gene replacement at Mb scale between two species. Its advantageous genome-engineering efficiency enables rapid construction of multiple specialized antibody discovery platforms, including mice generating fully human antibodies or alpaca antibodies and rabbits generating fully human antibodies (under construction).
About Immunocan
Immunocan was founded in 2020 and specializes in using gene editing technology to replace immunoglobulin variable region genes in various animals, resulting in genetically engineered animals capable of producing fully human antibodies and other innovative modalities. The company is committed to offering cutting-edge antibody discovery platforms to worldwide drug research partners, with the goal of developing safer and more effective treatments for human diseases.
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