VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AbCellera Biologics Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in the rapid discovery of monoclonal antibodies from natural immune cells, today announced its third antibody discovery collaboration with MassBiologics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
This new collaboration, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) under the ADEPT-PROTECT program, focuses on addressing the rapidly-growing, unmet global health threat caused by the multidrug resistant bacteria, Klebsiella pneumoniae. This pathogen is among the leading causes of hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections worldwide, and has emerged as a major concern for patients. AbCellera will apply its single-cell antibody discovery platform to identify panels of antibody candidates against Klebsiella pneumoniae directly from human volunteers.
“AbCellera’s technology has the throughput, speed and capacity to deeply screen natural human antibody responses to these pathogens,” said Carl Hansen, CEO and co-founder of AbCellera. “We are pleased at the opportunity to expand our collaboration with MassBiologics, and believe this work will further demonstrate the strength of our approach for rapid human antibody discovery, immune profiling, and vaccine development.”
This partnership builds on the successes of two earlier DARPA-funded collaborations between AbCellera and MassBiologics, from which novel antibodies for potential therapeutics to enterotoxigenic E. coli and Ebola virus were discovered.
About AbCellera Biologics Inc.
AbCellera is a privately held biotechnology company that provides enabling technologies for the discovery and development of monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies directly from natural immune cells.
AbCellera’s lead technology is a proprietary single cell antibody discovery platform that provides pharma and biotech partners with the ability to rapidly identify mAb therapeutic candidates from the natural immune repertoires of any species, including humans. For more information, please visit www.abcellera.com
About MassBiologics
MassBiologics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School is the only publicly owned, non-profit FDA-licensed manufacturer of vaccines and other biologic products in the United States. The laboratory was established in 1894 by the state Board of Health to produce diphtheria antitoxin. Since that time, the focus at MassBiologics has been to improve public health through applied research, development and production of biologic products. In 1997, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts transferred MassBiologics operations from the Department of Public Health to UMass Medical School to “maintain their public purpose, preserving their ability to compete in an increasingly competitive marketplace and to maximize their value to the Commonwealth.”
About the University of Massachusetts Medical School
The University of Massachusetts Medical School has built a reputation as a world-class research institution, consistently producing noteworthy advances in clinical and basic research. The Medical School attracts more than $270 million in research funding annually, 80 percent of which comes from federal funding sources. The mission of the Medical School is to advance the health and well-being of the people of the commonwealth and the world through pioneering education, research, public service and health care delivery with its clinical partner, UMass Memorial Health Care. For more information, visit http://www.umassmed.edu/.
Media Contacts
Kevin Heyries
Telephone: 604-827-4151
Email: kevin.heyries@abcellera.com
