Memo Therapeutics announced that it is entering preclinical development with its first drug candidate an anti-BKV antibody isolated from humans for the treatment of BK virus infection after renal transplantation.
Schlieren, September 11th, 2019
- The antibody was isolated from patients using proprietary microfluidic single-cell cloning and screening technology
- It will be developed to treat BK virus infection in kidney transplant recipients
Memo Therapeutics announced today that it is entering preclinical development with its first drug candidate an anti-BKV antibody isolated from humans for the treatment of BK virus infection after renal transplantation. Infection with BK virus poses a serious threat to renal transplants and occurs with a frequency of approximately 50%. Currently, there is no approved intervention and the only option left is to lower immune suppression treatment. Due to the unwanted side effects of this measure, there is a high unmet medical need to help transplant recipients keep a fully functional organ for the long term. A handful of rare patients with a neutralizing antibody response are better protected and their clinical outcome of transplantation is significantly improved. We have isolated an antibody from such ‘elite controllers’ with the following properties:
- Highly virus neutralizing
- Pico-molar affinity
- Optimal safety profile due to human origin (negative/positive selection) and known viral target
«We are highly excited to have developed a candidate antibody with such outstanding properties that could change the outcome of renal transplantation and will start preclinical development immediately. “ says Dr. Karsten Fischer, CEO. Dr. Christoph Esslinger, CSO, comments: “Being able to find ultra rare antibodies from elite controller patients is a key advantage of our technology. We will certainly leverage its ability for other applications in house as well as attract high-profile partnerships with pharmaceutical companies.»About Memo
Memo Therapeutics AG is an innovator in the field of antibody discovery and immune repertoire analysis. Exploiting the power of our microfluidic single-cell molecular cloning and screening technologies we engage in antibody discovery across species and indications for proprietary and partnered projects. Our current pipeline features programs in infectious diseases and immuno-oncology.
For further information, please visit memo-therapeutics.com.
