CytoSMART Technologies has released its first fluorescence cell counter. The CytoSMART Exact FL is an automated, dual fluorescence cell counter with an expanded field of view and unmatched performance.
INTEGRA Biosciences has launched the MINI 96 portable electronic pipette, giving every lab access to significantly increased liquid handling productivity.
Bio-Rad Laboratories has launched their SARS-CoV-2 Variant RT-PCR Assays for research use only (RUO).
C4Diagnostics, a French biotech, has received CE marking for their C4Covid-19 Human for the rapid diagnosis of Covid-19 from a saliva sample. The performance of the test was calculated upon a clinical trial of 1320 participants, carried out in collaboration with Synlab Provence Laboratories. Sensitivity is 86% and specificity is 97.5%.
A large number of COVID-19 diagnostic tests are reliant on detection of viral RNA from buccal swabs by PCR.
Agena Bioscience, has unveiled their MassARRAY® SARS-CoV-2 Variant Panel for Research Use Only (RUO) for the detection of key SARS-CoV-2 virus strains, including the UK (B.1.1.7), South Africa (B.1.351), Brazil (P.1) and Denmark (Cluster 5) variants.
Paradigm4 has unveiled its scalable solution for efficiently working with the Allotrope Data Format (ADF).
AMSBIO has launched a comprehensive range of cytosections that offer a verified, reproducible and renewable source of positive / negative controls where the expression of the target biomarker is confirmed for accuracy and specificity by an immunoassay.
IONTAS and FairJourney Biologics, leaders in the discovery and optimisation of fully human antibodies, have announced the identification of neutralizing antibodies, which bind to multiple emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. The results, generated from a combination of phage display technology and B-cell receptor repertoire sequencing of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, have identified potent neutralizing antibodies with distinct mechanisms of action. Based on this approach, the Company has developed a panel of therapeutic candidates.
SARS-CoV-2 virus enters the body as a result of the viral spike protein binding to the ACE2 protein on the surface of lung cells. This interaction is driven by a small region of the spike protein and the majority of antibodies currently undergoing clinical trial bind to this site. However, this site has changed in some of the emerging viral variants, reducing or abolishing the effect of some clinical candidates. Drug candidate antibodies developed by IONTAS to this same site have been shown to retain binding to the emerging variants.
An alternative approach for tackling variants is to target alternative regions of the virus which have a greater degree of conservation, making escape variants less likely. GSK/VIR Biotechnology recently announced a successful Phase 3 trial of such an antibody. VIR-7831 is an antibody which binds to a region of the spike protein which is highly conserved between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-1 (A distantly related virus responsible for the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003). VIR-7831 has shown an 85% reduction in hospitalisation and death during the COMET-ICE clinical trial.
A sub-set of the IONTAS antibodies, show a similar functionality to VIR-7831, by binding to sites conserved both in the recently emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants as well as to the more distantly related SARS-CoV-1 virus.
Dr John McCafferty, CSO at IONTAS, commented: “The first wave of antibody drugs for treating COVID-19 was focused on achieving maximal neutralization to the original SARS-CoV-2 strain first identified in Wuhan. This led many companies to a target site on the virus which is very effective for neutralization but also prone to genetic change. Second generation drug candidates need to anticipate the emergence of new variants by targeting more conserved sites. IONTAS has identified drug candidates which neutralize by targeting conserved regions of the virus. We now seek partners to help develop these to better position the world in tackling this dreadful disease.”
Berlin-based ProBioGen AG has signed a commercial multi-product license agreement with Sanofi. Under the agreement, Sanofi will integrate ProBioGen’s proprietary GlymaxX technology into their product development strategy for an undisclosed number of antibody candidates across several business units.
GlymaxX enables a boost of antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), consequently leading to an elevated NK cell mediated killing activity of its target cells. The GlymaxX technology adds value to the products by significantly improving their potency and potentially reducing the overall clinical doses for patients.
The GlymaxX technology for production of afucosylated proteins is widely applied in the pharma industry and hence used in various numbers of mAb candidates. It is universally applicable, simple and very potent.
The unique advantage of the GlymaxX technology allows a single GlymaxX modified cell line to produce both, completely fucosylated and/or afucosylated antibodies and those with intermediate defined fuscosylation levels.
The technology can be easily integrated in newly developed or already existing cell lines of different host cell origins, which demonstrates its great flexibility.
ProBioGen is a premier CDMO for developing and manufacturing complex therapeutic glycoproteins. The GlymaxX technology, developed by ProBioGen, prevents the addition of the sugar “fucose” to the N-linked antibody carbohydrate part by antibody producing cells. The absence of fucose enhances ADCC (antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity) activity for antibodies directed against cancer and infectious diseases. The GlymaxX technology is based on the stable introduction of a gene for an enzyme which deflects the cellular pathway of fucose biosynthesis. ProBioGen offers this technology royalty-free to third parties.
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