The CAESAR-IBD project attempts to develop therapeutic antibodies to treat IBD in dogs. Based on similar diseases known from humans, e.g. Morbus Crohn, adivo develops antibodies targeting pro-inflammatory factors well established in human medicine. Both targets selected for antibody discovery (primary and backup target) show great benefits in treating IBD related diseases in humans.
Adivo developed a phage display platform called CAESAR, the first fully synthetic canine phage display platform which allows de novo selection of therapeutic antibodies for various diseases in dogs.
This platform is used for both targets, to identify novel antibody candidates efficiently blocking the interaction of the pro-inflammatory factors and their receptors.
The objectives of the project are the identification of an in vitro validated LEAD candidate for the primary or backup target (D1.1). This includes the biophysical characterization of the substrate to ensure its successful production in a future CMC process (D1.2). This candidate is preclinically tested in an ex-vivo 3D organoid model to prove functionality in target tissue (D2.1). The lead substrate is then in vivo clinically validated determining dose and safety. This data package is used for future out-licensing activities (D3.1 D3.2 D3.3). The in vivo validated lead candidate is entering cell development phase for GMP production, aiming for a high expressing stable cell line (D4.1). Lastly, pre-commercial activities are carried out to support the business case for out-licensing activities (D5.1 D52).
At the end of the funding period, we finished the first half of the affinity maturation procedure for the backup target (D1.1 and D1.2). We successfully established a functional cell assay which supports the validation of functionality in target tissue (D2.1).
