Theravectys secures exclusive access to synthetic humanised nanobody library

Theravectys has reached an exclusive licensing agreement to use a library of synthetic humanised camelid nanobodies that have been developed at the Institut Curie, of Paris, France.

Over the last 10 years, Theravectys has strengthened its in-house expertise in lentiviral vectors and looked to demonstrate synergies with other innovative and complementary immunotherapy approaches. These efforts have led to evidence of sustainable remissions in cancer and the durable treatment of major global infectious diseases.

With the addition of the nanobody synthetic library from the Institut Curie, the company now owns one of the most comprehensive immunotherapeutic platforms available, which includes prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines (through the direct administration of lentiviral vectors), chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and T-cell receptor (TCR)-based cell therapies, and anti-checkpoint inhibitors, along with additional strategic assets.

Under the terms of the agreement, Theravectys has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to the library to generate proprietary receptors for CAR- and TCR-based therapies, identify checkpoint inhibitors and screen tumour antigens.

In addition to the licensing agreement, Theravectys and the Institut Curie have entered into a long-term R&D alliance to optimise the library and accelerate the development of Theravectys’ ongoing programmes in immuno-oncology. The synthetic nature of the library will allow the identification of nanobodies in less than six months, as well as the engineering of their biochemical properties, including affinity and stability.

‘Our nanobody library offers an unrivalled potential in immuno-oncology. The low molecular weight of nanobodies allow their insertion into lentiviral vectors and can thus be expressed as CARs on T and NK cells,' said Frank Perez, Research Director at the Institut Curie and at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).