BioInnovation Institute (BII), a non-profit institute incubating and accelerating world-class life science research, today announces it has entered into a collaboration with the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) to support a translational research project through its company creation program, Bio Studio.
Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, BII will contribute to the funding of the project by means of a grant with a total annual market value of up to DKK 7,860,000, for a project period of up to three years. Alongside the grant, BII will support the project with business development expertise, intellectual property support, investor network access, and wet lab and office infrastructure.
The new Bio Studio project, that is named Y-king Biologics, developed a proprietary antibody platform technology that allows the team to engineer pH-dependent antigen binding properties into any monoclonal antibody based on an immunoglobulin.
Y-king Biologics will be led by Principal Investigator Professor Andreas H. Laustsen-Kiel and Entrepreneur in Residence Rikke Christina Nielsen. During the Bio Studio program, the focus will be on solidifying and further developing the technology platform and create a discovery pipeline with therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of diseases with high unmet needs.
While monoclonal antibodies have already demonstrated success in treating an array of diseases, there is still huge potential in improving current methods for engineering antigen-binding properties into monoclonal antibodies.
“Monoclonal antibody treatments are currently costly to the patients and the healthcare system, and they are often inconvenient to administer as they require intravenous or subcutaneous injections. We firmly believe that our monoclonal antibody-based therapies will increase efficacy and safety while reducing the dosing volume and frequency. This will benefit the patient and bring the cost down to a commercially attractive level,” says Rikke Christina Nielsen, Entrepreneur in Residence.
According to Andreas H. Laustsen-Kiel, the Principal Investigator, and Professor and Center Director at DTU Bioengineering, the key value proposition of Y-king Biologics is their ability to develop universal pH-switches, which allows Y-king Biologics to enter a global antibody market that FutureMarket Insights estimates to be worth around 266.83 billion in 2024.
“The pH-switches come in two versions, the OFF-switch, and the ON-switch, each solving different therapeutic challenges where Y-king Biologics could have significant competitive advantages. Most of the current approaches to develop antibodies with pH-dependent binding properties are based on laborious trial and error methodologies, he says, and continues:
“BII’s Bio Studio program provides us with a unique chance to focus our efforts on strengthening our technology platform and pipeline. This gives Y-king Biologics the best chances to become a successful future company.”
A team with plenty of start-up experience
BioInnovation Institute sees great potential in adding Y-king Biologics to its Bio Studio portfolio, which already includes several company-creation projects from high-level research institutions, such as Imperial College London, the Institute of Protein Design at the University of Washington, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
“We are pleased to collaborate with DTU to support Y-king Biologics in our Bio Studio program. The project aligns perfectly with BII’s mission of improving human health to benefit society and patients globally. Furthermore, the Principal Investigator, Andreas H. Laustsen-Kiel, and the Entrepreneur in Residence, Rikke Christina Nielsen, bring a unique skill set combining excellent scientific knowledge, commercial knowledge, and biotech experience to benefit the project and its chances of success,” says Trine Bartholdy, Chief Business Officer at BioInnovation Institute.
The project officially started in BII’s Bio Studio program on 1st of October and is currently hiring team members.
You can read more about the project here: https://bit.ly/3Z5NmnW