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iBio Forges Research Collaboration with the National Institutes of Health
– NIH to evaluate iBio’s patented AI-driven epitope steering platform for Lassa fever vaccine development – BRYAN, Texas and SAN DIEGO, June 12, 2023 (GLOBE
About this update from Ibio, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"– NIH to evaluate iBio’s patented AI-driven epitope steering platform for Lassa fever vaccine development – BRYAN, Texas and SAN DIEGO, June 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iBio, Inc. (NYSEA:IBIO) (“iBio” or the “Company”), an AI-driven innovator of precision antibody immunotherapies, today announced that the Company has entered into a research collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (“NIAID”), a component of the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”), to investigate the potential of iBio’s patented AI-driven epitope steering platform for the development of a vaccine for Lassa fever, a sometimes fatal viral disease endemic to parts of West Africa.1 There is currently no vaccine available to prevent Lassa fever. Based on the viral epitopes identified by researchers at NIAID’s Vaccine Research Center (“VRC”), iBio will work with the VRC to determine if using iBio’s platform to steer immunity toward these epitopes offers advantages over other vaccine development approaches. Should the collaboration be successful, researchers at the VRC may assess promising candidates in both in vitro and in vivo studies, and potentially advance a lead candidate to a Phase 1 clinical trial. “This collaboration with the NIH represents a potential new application for, and validation of our patented AI discovery platform,” said Martin Brenner, DVM, Ph.D., iBio’s Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer. “While we remain focused on deploying our core technology to internally discover and develop therapeutic candidates for oncology, we believe our differentiated vaccine development capabilities could also make us an ideal partner for RNA- and peptide-based vaccine developers.” Epitopes represent specific regions within viral proteins that can be recognized by the human immune system. They encompass an amino acid sequence that folds into a distinct three-dimensional shape within the full-length viral protein. However, when epitope sequences are isolated, there is a risk of incorrect folding, which can obscure critical epitope regions or alter antibody binding sites. This scenario potentially undermines the generation of an effective antibody response.2 iBio's patented AI powered epitope steering platform offers a potential solution by generating engineered epitopes. These epitopes not only possess the c...