The solid tumor-specific scaffold protein ligand from Navigo combines with MDimune's BioDrone® technology to create a new type of targeted therapy based on extracellular vesicles
Halle/Saale, Germany and Seoul, South Korea, May 11, 2021 / B3C News Line/ - Navigo Proteins is a protein engineering biotechnology company that produces scaffold protein-based affinity ligands, and MDimune is a company that develops protein-based Exosome-like nanocell-derived vesicles (CDV), a biotechnology company that is an innovative drug delivery platform, today announced a technical collaboration to achieve tissue targeting of extracellular vesicles (EV). Ongoing research combines Navigo's targeted binding Affilin® molecule with MDimune's CDV technology to enable Affilin®-mediated CDV to be specifically delivered to solid tumor targets.
For the current collaboration, Navigo Proteins will contribute its existing solid tumor-specific Affilin® molecules to "decorate" the surface of exosome-like CDV from MDimune's BioDrone® technology, thereby creating the next generation of targets based on extracellular vesicles To therapy (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: CDV tumor targeting mediated by Affilin®
Dr. Ulrich Haupts, Chief Scientific Officer of Navigo Proteins commented: “We look forward to combining our selectivity to Affilin® molecules with MDimune’s extracellular vesicle manufacturing platform, because this opens up an exciting opportunity for our scaffold protein-based Affilin®. Exciting new applications for molecules in the field of exosome-based therapy. The modular and highly designable Affilin® technology can be a very attractive solution for precise and targeted delivery of exosomes Body-like vesicles transport different payloads to different target tissues."
"Recently, we have invested a lot of energy and resources to accelerate the effective guidance of our vesicles and CDV to tumors or other drug-resistant tissues. The current cooperation with Navigo Proteins is one of them, highlighting our recent focus. MDimune chief Science Officer Dr. Seung Wook Oh said: "Navigo Protein's expertise in generating highly tissue-specific ligands will be the key to achieving this goal and ultimately lay the foundation for our BioDrone® platform technology. "
About Affilin® Affinity Ligands Navigo's Affilin® molecule is a target-specific, small, stable, and highly engineerable single-chain affinity ligand based on human ubiquitin as a protein scaffold. Since ubiquitin is an evolutionarily conserved natural human protein and also exists in plasma, Affilin® molecules have low immunogenic potential in humans and can also be directly used in various preclinical animal models. Affilin® molecules are currently being developed as protein-drug conjugates, radioconjugates, antibody alternatives in CAR-T cell therapy, and as bi/multispecific molecules by combining them with antibodies. Through this collaboration, Navigo aims to expand the applicability of Affilin® molecules to guide exosomes and extracellular vesicles to target tissues of interest.
About BioDrone® platform technology MDimune's BioDrone® platform facilitates the mass production of CDV, exosome-like, nano-scale vesicles from various cell types through a proprietary extrusion method. CDV is similar to exosomes in size, properties, and functions, but shows significant advantages in terms of yield, and is more suitable for large-scale production and versatility to allow highly complex engineering from almost any cell type. BioDrone® technology is becoming a highly versatile and scalable delivery system to solve many human diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, etc. Although the current project aims to deliver Affilin®-CDV-mediated payloads to solid tumors, this technological advancement is not limited to cancer, but can also be extended to other tissues and diseases.
About Navigo Proteins GmbH Navigo Proteins is a major protein engineering company that develops affinity ligands based on its proprietary platform of selected, small and stable but highly engineerable scaffold proteins. These ligands are used as target binding proteins in biotherapeutic molecules (PRECISION TARGETING) or for commercial custom affinity purification of biological products (PRECISION CAPTURING®). Navigo's PRECISION TARGETING unit creates a proprietary Affilin® molecule based on a human ubiquitin scaffold-a highly conserved, small (8.5kDa) and stable natural human protein. The main advantage of the Precision Targeting toolbox is its modular engineering design capabilities. Target-specific Affilin® molecules can be combined with a variety of carrier units for site-specific payload coupling and half-life extension and functional effector modules to transform them into different biopharmaceutical methods. Navigo’s ligands are currently being developed as Affilin®-drug conjugates, Affilin®-radioconjugates, Affilin® CAR-T cell therapy, and can also be fused with antibodies to produce powerful bi/multispecific molecules (Mabfilin ™ /Fabfilin™). For more information, please visit https://www.navigo-proteins.com/ and follow Navigo Proteins on LinkedIn.
About MDimune Inc. MDimune is a South Korean biotechnology company established in 2015 and has been committed to the development and implementation of the most advanced BioDrone® platform technology. BioDrone® is an innovative technology that relies on human-derived CDV to obtain nano-scale vesicles from various cells by using a proprietary extrusion method to achieve targeted specific drug delivery. Compared with exosomes, BioDrone® has higher productivity and is becoming a highly versatile and scalable delivery system to combat various debilitating diseases, including cancer, neurodegeneration and rare diseases. MDimune is expanding its global network to utilize effective tissue targeting strategies to achieve highly tissue-specific delivery of various goods such as miRNA, siRNA, mRNA and protein. The company envisions applying this new BioDrone® platform to meet the various needs of pharmaceutical customers who are looking for effective drug carriers.
Navigo Proteins Dr. Oliver Schub Business Development Director This email address has been protected by an anti-spam plug-in. You need to enable JavaScript to view it. +49 (0)345 27996330
MDimune Brin Choi Business Development Manager This email address has been protected by anti-spam plug-ins. You need to enable JavaScript to view it. +82 (0)70+7826
Keywords: Biological Sciences; Protein Engineering; Isolation and Purification; Manufacturing; Extraction and Processing Industry; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Chromatography, Affinity; Ligands; Ubiquitin; Biological Products; Drug Delivery Systems; Exosomes; Carrier Proteins; Germany ; South Korea
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