File:3D-Printed Lymph Nodes for SARS-CoV-2, Zyka and Novel Mutants (49914823762).png

For a rapid response to COVID-19 and its growing array of new mutants, <a href="https://www.prellisbio.com" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Prellis Bio</a> printed 960 synthetic lymph nodes and used them to generate 300 human antibodies that bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins... all in less than 30 days. This method applies to any new pathogen, viral or bacterial

From today's <a href="https://synbiobeta.com/prellis-biologics-inc-generates-300-human-antibodies-that-bind-the-sars-cov2-virus-pursues-development-of-a-treatment-and-preventative-therapy-for-covid-19-infection/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">news</a>: “Three hundred virus-specific IgG antibodies is a tremendous number to have at this stage. Our pipeline for class-switched antibodies has produced an order of magnitude larger pool than the typical antibody development program,” said Erin Stephens, PhD and Director of Tissue Engineering at Prellis.

Notably, the process does not require an infected donor, extensive screening, or generation of antibodies in animals, dramatically reducing the time to produce a targeted library of candidate antibodies to less than one month.

Prellis Bio recently closed a $4.3 million investment round led by Future Ventures, Khosla Ventures, and IndieBio to support the development of human anti-SARS-CoV2 antibodies.

“We funded the formation of an army of synthetic human lymph nodes to identify antibody therapies for SARS-CoV2 and potentially all new pandemic diseases, both viral and bacterial,” said Steve Jurvetson, co-founder of Future Ventures. “It’s like having a surrogate human immune system from hundreds of people without needing to sample from infected patients, offering a rapid response procedure for any pathogen.”

Looking forward, Prellis Biologics is planning to address known mutations in SARS-CoV2 by using their Externalized Human Immune System technology to produce libraries of antibodies that recognize mutations in the SARS-CoV2 virus. “Novel mutations are being found in SARS-CoV2 across the globe. It’s likely that these mutations will impact vaccine and therapeutic antibody efficacy,” says Prellis Founder and CEO Melanie Matheu, PhD. “With our rapid antibody development platform, we can move as quickly as the virus is changing, and we’re planning to get ahead of it.”