Melbourne, Australia, 9th January 2012 – 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
