US-based biopharmaceutical company Denali Therapeutics has formed an alliance with Canadian therapeutic discovery firm AbCellera Biologics to identify new antibodies to target neurodegenerative diseases.
During the initial phase of the partnership, AbCellera used its single-cell screening approach to detect numerous monoclonal antibodies with specific binding properties against a genetically validated target identified by Denali.
The ultra-deep screening technique involves analysing natural immune reserves from any species to uncover antibodies such as plasma, antibody-secreting and B-cells. Millions of single cells can be screened per run.
This platform supports a variety of assays for single-cell antibody selection, along with combination of multi-step and multiplexed binding measurements and live-cell assays.
AbCellera Biologics CEO Carl Hansen said: “Neurodegenerative disease is one of the most important frontiers for biologics. It is also one of the most challenging, and bringing new therapies to patients will require the best possible technologies on every front.
“The speed and success of this project highlight what can be achieved when companies work closely together and share complementary technologies.”
AbCellera’s technology has been validated during various collaborations with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and has been found to be successful when compared with other methods such as hybridoma and emerging B-cell selection platforms.
Denali Therapeutics CEO Ryan Watts said: “We are thrilled to collaborate with AbCellera to discover biologics candidates that leverage our proprietary Antibody Transport Vehicle to cross the blood-brain barrier and that could ultimately benefit patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.”
The companies have not divulged the financial terms of the partnership.
