- A Nanobody Antibody Technology That Can Swiftly Respond to Future Viral Pandemics
[Cambridge, MA, USA / Seoul, Korea – May 9, 2024] Shaperon (378800, CEO Seung-Yong Seong), a bio-company specializing in innovative immune drug development, officially announced that its self-developed nanobody antibody has demonstrated efficacy in inhibiting influenza virus proliferation and alleviating symptoms in the lungs of experimental animals. This study has been approved for publication in an international SCI journal.
The study, conducted jointly by Shaperon and researchers led by Professor Wun-Seong Na from the School of Dentistry at Seoul National University, along with Professor Dae-sub Song's team from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Seoul National University and HuVet Bio, showed that the nanobody antibody developed using alpaca immune systems effectively inhibited virus proliferation in the lungs of mice infected with influenza virus, significantly improving survival rates. The results have been approved for publication in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (impact factor 7.5).
Shaperon's nanobody-based multivalent antibodies offer several innovative advantages over conventional antibodies in treating influenza viruses. Their small size and high stability allow for better tissue and cell penetration, while their simple and cost-efficient production process supports large-scale therapeutic production. Additionally, these nanobodies are easy to genetically modify and combine, making them effective against various influenza virus variants and serotypes. This study marks a successful first step in developing nanobody-based multivalent antiviral therapeutics.
These antibodies are especially cost-effective for severe influenza patients. In the absence of approved antiviral drugs for severe cases, nanobody-based multivalent antibodies can reduce medical costs by replacing expensive synthetic compound therapies, thereby supporting the sustainability of healthcare finances.
ABOUT SHAPERON
Shaperon is a clinical stage biotech company developing novel inflammasome inhibitors. Its unique mechanism of action of GPCR19-P2X7 modulation suppresses a broad spectrum of inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β, IL-18, IL-6, and TNF-α by controlling both priming and activation phase of inflammasome, whereas conventional approaches are designed to suppress only the activation phase. With this unique and novel modality which is best suited to address complex immune-mediated inflammatory disorders, Shaperon is currently developing multiple clinical programs in atopic dermatitis, Alzheimer’s disease, and COVID 19 pneumonia in addition to pre-clinical pipelines, including MASH and obesity programs.. Shaperon is also developing its immuno-oncology pipelines, such as bi-specific and tri-specific nanobodies based on its proprietary nanobody platform technology.
ABOUT Hudson Therapeutics
Hudson Therapeutics, a US subsidiary of Shaperon was founded and incorporated in the US in 2023 to lead global clinical trials, investor relations, commercial strategy, and business development of assets from Shaperon. Hudson also plans to develop Shaperon's early-stage assets in the future.