Research collaboration to ‘strengthen pandemic preparedness’ 

Life science company ProImmune has announced a collaboration with The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) to partner on research into infectious diseases. 

The collaboration will combine ProImmune’s Ankyron target binding reagent technology with expertise at the Galveston National Laboratory (GNL), part of UTMB, in the immunopathology of emerging viruses.  

Under the agreement, ProImmune’s Ankyrons will be evaluated as molecular tools to enable precise detection, localisation, and functional interrogation of viral proteins across complex experimental systems compatible with high-containment research. 

Ankyrons are a novel class of small, single-domain binding reagents based on an engineered ankyrin-repeat scaffold that enables high affinity and specificity for diverse protein targets. Generated through a fully in vitro, high-throughput selection process, Ankyrons can be rapidly identified, optimised, and produced without the need for animal immunisation, making them well suited for time-sensitive infectious disease research.  

The teams will initially focus on validating Ankyrons specific for viral proteins from pathogens of major global health concern, including Bundibugyo virus, Zaire ebolavirus, Sudan ebolavirus, Reston ebolavirus, Human Enterovirus 71, and Mpox virus. 

“Ankyrons and our powerful automated high throughput parallel discovery platform are particularly well suited for demanding research environments such as emerging infectious diseases, enabling detection and interrogation of viral proteins and study of multiple rapidly emerging infectious diseases simultaneously,” said Nikolai Schwabe, Chief Executive Officer of ProImmune. 

“Working with the Woolsey laboratory at GNL allows us to validate these Ankyron reagents in biologically relevant systems and strengthen pandemic preparedness.” 

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