Main Conference Day 2 - European Time GMT+1
- Pierre Bruhns, Ph.D. - Director, Unit of Antibodies in Therapy & Pathology, Institut Pasteur
- Brandon DeKosky, Ph.D. - Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, MIT and The Ragon Institute
Monkeypox is a dangerous virus, and some of its key targets for immunity are still unknown. We discovered antibodies that recognize a viral protein called A28 and showed they can strongly neutralize Monkeypox and related viruses. Vaccinating mice with A28 triggered powerful immune responses and fully protected them from infection. These results suggest A28 could improve future Monkeypox vaccines.
- Natalia Freund, Ph.D - Associate Professor, Tel Aviv University
Neonatal Fc receptor is a popular target for treatment of autoimmune disorders due to its role in maintaining IgG levels. Fc-ABDEG and albumin-binding VHH were combined to develop next-generation FcRn blockers with improved IgG clearance. Step-wise engineering was applied to optimize position and number of VHHs, their affinity to albumin, and the linker connecting it to Fc-ABDEG. Novel FcRn-based cellular assays and effects in human FcRn transgenic mice are included.
- Karen Silence, PhD - Head Preclinical Product Development, Argenx
Serological antibodies represent an immunologically distinct compartment from B-cell repertoires that is often overlooked by genetic methods. A novel proteomics platform enables standalone protein-level discovery from complex human serum, sequencing unique antibodies absent in B-cell data. In a COVID-19 benchmark with zero prior B-cell neutralizers, we identified 18 distinct clones, yielding 8 neutralizers (3 highly potent, <0.2 µg/mL IC50), facilitating a pathway to real-world therapeutic discovery across diseases.
- Maurits den Boer, Ph.D. - Co-Founder and CEO, Abvion
- Christoph Kreer, Ph.D - Senior Scientist, University of Cologne
- Niccolo Pengo, PhD - Chief Scientific Officer, Mabylon AG