Antiverse Advances Antibody Discovery with $3 Million Investment
On March 1, 2023, Antiverse Ltd, a pioneering biotechnology company based in Cardiff, Wales, announced significant advancements in its antibody drug discovery initiatives. The company has successfully identified eight antibody clusters that possess therapeutic potential for human G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Furthermore, Antiverse secured a $3 million USD (approximately £2.5 million GBP) investment, which will facilitate the in-house development of these promising assets. Seven of the identified antibodies have already been characterized and exhibit high-affinity blocking functions, positioning them as excellent candidates for further development as therapeutic agents.
Antiverse's breakthrough comes from its innovative computational antibody drug discovery platform, which leverages machine learning to effectively model antibody-antigen interactions.
Through this advanced platform, Antiverse was able to pinpoint a diverse array of binders targeting two distinct GPCRs, both of which demonstrate impressive binding profiles and nanomolar affinity. The selection process included the use of Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS), which led to the confirmation of the eight antibodies as functional binders to human GPCRs. This achievement serves to underscore the platform's capability to streamline and expedite the traditionally labor-intensive process of antibody identification and validation.
Murat Tunaboylu, co-founder and CEO of Antiverse, expressed his gratitude towards the investors: InnoSpark, AngelHub, Kadmos Capital, Tomorrow Scale, and existing investors including Tensor Ventures, Deep Science Ventures, Ed Parkinson, and the Development Bank of Wales (DBW). He stated, “This is the most comprehensive validation of our platform thus far” and emphasized that the funding will significantly bolster the in-house development of these therapeutic assets in collaboration with academic partners. Moreover, Peter Pack, an antibody engineer and Non-Executive Director at Antiverse, highlighted the transformative impact of Antiverse’s AI-driven methods in efficiently generating nanomolar binders against challenging antigens, which could reshape the antibody discovery landscape.”
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