Pepscan’s platform will be used in the selection and screening process for lipocalin-derived therapeutic candidates.
Pieris and Pepscan Therapeutics have begun a collaboration to identify and develop Anticalins® specific for GPCRs. The company believes that therapeutics based on this technology will have advantages over mAbs.
Anticalins are derived from lipocalins, a family of low molecular weight proteins that are naturally and abundantly expressed in human tissues and body fluids. They perform a variety of functions in vivo associated with the physiological transport and storage of chemically sensitive or insoluble compounds, Pieris explains.
Pepscan’s CLIPS™ tool will be used to obtain immunogens targeting functional epitopes on proteins. “Pieris has successfully isolated and characterized high-potency Anticalins against structurally diverse functional epitopes on a wide range of medically relevant proteins,” points out Andreas Hohlbaum, director of science and preclinical development at Pieris. “Incorporating Pepscan’s CLIPS technology into our selection and screening process now allows us to discover Anticalins with high affinity and selectivity for specific GPCRs.”
Pepscan’s platform can selectively identify functional mimics of the extracellular portions of GPCRs. These mimics will be used by Pieris to select Anticalins with disease-modifying potential.
