Antibody Discovery
Using cutting-edge gene editing, synthetic biology and chromosome engineering technologies, we are generating several series of next-generation genetic platforms to enable the production of diverse biologic modalities, including single domain antibodies, common light chain antibodies, and conventional antibodies of human or other species for developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic agents.
Singularity Suite
Single-domain antibodies, also known as NANOBODIES®, are compact and versatile building blocks for developing diverse biologic modalities, such as multi-specific antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates, as well as key components for mRNA and cell therapies.
Traditionally sourced from llamas and alpacas, these antibodies require complex engineering for human therapeutic use. Although several transgenic animal models have been created for developing fully human single-domain antibodies, they frequently encounter challenges such as restricted antibody diversity and suboptimal immune responses, due to the inherent limitations of conventional transgenic technologies.
To circumvent these challenges, we have engineered an industry-leading platform, the Singularity Sapiens Mouse, which exclusively generates heavy chain antibodies from the complete human VH repertoire integrated into the mouse Igh locus. This targeted approach ensures faithful expression of human immunoglobulin genes and eliminates interfering conventional antibodies, promoting optimal B cell development and robust immune responses. Consequently, antibodies produced using this platform exhibit superior diversity, affinity, stability, solubility, modularity, and functionality.
We are now in the process of engineering a collection of mice to enable the production of single-domain antibodies of different species or protein scaffolds. This Singularity Suite provides expanded options to customize and enhance antibody discovery efforts, enabling tailored solutions for diverse therapeutic and diagnostic needs.
*NANOBODIES® is a registered trademark of Ablynx N.V. (a subsidiary of Sanofi).
Universality Suite
Developing bispecific antibodies presents several challenges, including difficulties in ensuring the correct pairing of heavy and light chains, maintaining stability, and achieving high specificity and affinity for both targets.
Common light chain antibodies offer a reliable approach to overcome these challenges. By using a single light chain across different antibodies, the pairing issues are minimized, resulting in more consistent and stable bispecific antibodies. This uniformity simplifies production, improves antibody functionality, and enhances therapeutic efficacy.
We are in the process of engineering a series of common light chain antibody mice, the Universality Suite, each expressing a fully human, well-characterized common light chain derived from an FDA-approved therapeutic antibody. These mice are being crossed to mice engineered to have a humanized Igh allele to generate common light chain antibodies with diverse human heavy chains. These animals are a critical part of our antibody discovery platforms, enabling the production of bispecific and multi-specific antibodies suitable for a wide range of applications.
