Welp what do we have here.
“Absci and Caltech Join Forces, Bolstered by Major Grant, to Accelerate Affordable HIV Therapeutic Vaccine Development
Aug 10, 2023
Vancouver, WA (Aug 10, 2023) — Absci Corporation (Nasdaq: ABSI), a generative AI drug creation
company, today announced that leading researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
in conjunction with Absci, a leader in AI drug creation, received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation.The grant supports the joint effort of Caltech and Absci to discover affordable HIV
therapeutic vaccinations, with the goal of making a significant step forward in the fight against the global
HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The collaboration between Caltech and Absci, led by Dr. Pamela Bjorkman, brings together
cutting-edge research capabilities and advanced technological expertise in structural biology and
immunology, protein design, synthetic biology, and generative AI. By leveraging their combined
strengths, the teams will work to develop a novel HIV therapy that first exposes and then binds to a
highly conserved epitope binding site on HIV-1 to potentially both treat and protect against infection
from all strains of the virus.
More than 40 years after the AIDS pandemic began, there is no vaccine or cure for HIV. Antiretroviral
therapies (ARTs) help many people live longer, healthier lives, but they do not completely eliminate the
virus and must be taken for life. Additionally, the cost and inaccessibility of these drugs
disproportionately affect millions of people from low-income and marginalized communities. This new
partnership between Caltech and Absci, facilitated by the generous grant from the Gates Foundation,
aims to address this disparity by focusing on the affordability, scalability, and accessibility of HIV
therapeutic vaccinations. Combining the latest advances and expertise across their respective fields,
Caltech and Absci aim to confront a challenge facing millions worldwide.
“We are thrilled to receive this grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,” said Dr. Stephen Mayo,
Bren Professor of Biology and Chemistry and Merkin Institute Professor at Caltech and project
co-leader. “We’re committed to making transformative contributions to society through research and
innovation, and we are excited to partner with Absci, who has developed a powerful de novo AI
antibody platform that is helping to unlock new therapeutic possibilities. This collaboration with Absci
allows us to combine our expertise and work towards a common goal of developing affordable HIV
therapeutic vaccinations that can save lives and bring hope to millions.”
“We are honored to be partnering with Caltech on this critical project,” stated Sean McClain, Founder
and CEO of Absci. “At Absci, we are driven to transform lives through the power of generative AI and
synthetic biology. By joining forces with Dr. Pamela Bjorkman and Dr. Stephen Mayo, and with support
from the Gates Foundation,, we believe we can make significant strides towards developing affordable
HIV therapeutic vaccinations and positively impacting global health.”
https://www.absci.com/absci-and-caltech-join-...velopment/
Took awhile to find but here is Dr. Pamela Bjorkman most recent publication on HIV. Look at that CCR5 and direct visualization of the hypothesized pre-hairpin intermediate of HIV-1. Hmmm
Read More: https://investorshangout.com/post/view?id=660...z8A36YlLA2
“Abstract
Fusion of HIV-1 with the membrane of its target cell, an obligate first step in virus infectivity, is mediated by binding of the viral envelope (Env) spike protein to its receptors, CD4 and CCR5/CXCR4, on the cell surface. The process of viral fusion appears to be fast compared with viral egress and has not been visualized by EM. To capture fusion events, the process must be curtailed by trapping Env-receptor binding at an intermediate stage. We have used fusion inhibitors to trap HIV-1 virions attached to target cells by Envs in an extended pre-hairpin intermediate state. Electron tomography revealed HIV-1 virions bound to TZM-bl cells by 2–4 narrow spokes, with slightly more spokes present when evaluated with mutant virions that lacked the Env cytoplasmic tail. These results represent the first direct visualization of the hypothesized pre-hairpin intermediate of HIV-1 Env and improve our understanding of Env-mediated HIV-1 fusion and infection of host cells.“
https://elifesciences.org/articles/58411
Also if you are behind on the ABSCI connection here is the most recent activity from Cyrus on his LinkedIn. He likes Absci a lot
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/activity...s-comments
I also decided to look up Caltech patents to see if there was a connection. Well look at that.
“US Patent Application for ANTI-HIV VACCINE ANTIBODIES WITH REDUCED POLYREACTIVITY Patent Application (Application #20220289829)“
“In some embodiments, the antibodies or antigen-binding fragments described herein are combined with a CCR5 inhibitor. Examples of CCR5 inhibitors include aplaviroc, vicriviroc, maraviroc, maraviroc (long-acting injectable nanoemulsion), cenicriviroc, LERONLIMAB (PRO-140), adaptavir (RAP-101), nifeviroc (TD-0232), anti-GP120/CD4 or CCR5 bispecific antibodies, B-07, MB-66, polypeptide C25P, TD-0680, thioraviroc, and vMIP (Haimipu).“
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
This invention was made with government support under P01AI100148 and R01A129784 awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The government has certain rights in the invention.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to broad and potent antibodies against Human Immunodeficiency Virus (“HIV”).
https://patents.justia.com/patent/20220289829
Alright I think this is enough to get the shorts scratching their heads tomorrow
“Absci and Caltech Join Forces, Bolstered by Major Grant, to Accelerate Affordable HIV Therapeutic Vaccine Development
Aug 10, 2023
Vancouver, WA (Aug 10, 2023) — Absci Corporation (Nasdaq: ABSI), a generative AI drug creation
company, today announced that leading researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
in conjunction with Absci, a leader in AI drug creation, received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation.The grant supports the joint effort of Caltech and Absci to discover affordable HIV
therapeutic vaccinations, with the goal of making a significant step forward in the fight against the global
HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The collaboration between Caltech and Absci, led by Dr. Pamela Bjorkman, brings together
cutting-edge research capabilities and advanced technological expertise in structural biology and
immunology, protein design, synthetic biology, and generative AI. By leveraging their combined
strengths, the teams will work to develop a novel HIV therapy that first exposes and then binds to a
highly conserved epitope binding site on HIV-1 to potentially both treat and protect against infection
from all strains of the virus.
More than 40 years after the AIDS pandemic began, there is no vaccine or cure for HIV. Antiretroviral
therapies (ARTs) help many people live longer, healthier lives, but they do not completely eliminate the
virus and must be taken for life. Additionally, the cost and inaccessibility of these drugs
disproportionately affect millions of people from low-income and marginalized communities. This new
partnership between Caltech and Absci, facilitated by the generous grant from the Gates Foundation,
aims to address this disparity by focusing on the affordability, scalability, and accessibility of HIV
therapeutic vaccinations. Combining the latest advances and expertise across their respective fields,
Caltech and Absci aim to confront a challenge facing millions worldwide.
“We are thrilled to receive this grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,” said Dr. Stephen Mayo,
Bren Professor of Biology and Chemistry and Merkin Institute Professor at Caltech and project
co-leader. “We’re committed to making transformative contributions to society through research and
innovation, and we are excited to partner with Absci, who has developed a powerful de novo AI
antibody platform that is helping to unlock new therapeutic possibilities. This collaboration with Absci
allows us to combine our expertise and work towards a common goal of developing affordable HIV
therapeutic vaccinations that can save lives and bring hope to millions.”
“We are honored to be partnering with Caltech on this critical project,” stated Sean McClain, Founder
and CEO of Absci. “At Absci, we are driven to transform lives through the power of generative AI and
synthetic biology. By joining forces with Dr. Pamela Bjorkman and Dr. Stephen Mayo, and with support
from the Gates Foundation,, we believe we can make significant strides towards developing affordable
HIV therapeutic vaccinations and positively impacting global health.”
https://www.absci.com/absci-and-caltech-join-...velopment/
Took awhile to find but here is Dr. Pamela Bjorkman most recent publication on HIV. Look at that CCR5 and direct visualization of the hypothesized pre-hairpin intermediate of HIV-1. Hmmm
Read More: https://investorshangout.com/post/view?id=660...z8A36YlLA2
“Abstract
Fusion of HIV-1 with the membrane of its target cell, an obligate first step in virus infectivity, is mediated by binding of the viral envelope (Env) spike protein to its receptors, CD4 and CCR5/CXCR4, on the cell surface. The process of viral fusion appears to be fast compared with viral egress and has not been visualized by EM. To capture fusion events, the process must be curtailed by trapping Env-receptor binding at an intermediate stage. We have used fusion inhibitors to trap HIV-1 virions attached to target cells by Envs in an extended pre-hairpin intermediate state. Electron tomography revealed HIV-1 virions bound to TZM-bl cells by 2–4 narrow spokes, with slightly more spokes present when evaluated with mutant virions that lacked the Env cytoplasmic tail. These results represent the first direct visualization of the hypothesized pre-hairpin intermediate of HIV-1 Env and improve our understanding of Env-mediated HIV-1 fusion and infection of host cells.“
https://elifesciences.org/articles/58411
Also if you are behind on the ABSCI connection here is the most recent activity from Cyrus on his LinkedIn. He likes Absci a lot
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/activity...s-comments
I also decided to look up Caltech patents to see if there was a connection. Well look at that.
“US Patent Application for ANTI-HIV VACCINE ANTIBODIES WITH REDUCED POLYREACTIVITY Patent Application (Application #20220289829)“
“In some embodiments, the antibodies or antigen-binding fragments described herein are combined with a CCR5 inhibitor. Examples of CCR5 inhibitors include aplaviroc, vicriviroc, maraviroc, maraviroc (long-acting injectable nanoemulsion), cenicriviroc, LERONLIMAB (PRO-140), adaptavir (RAP-101), nifeviroc (TD-0232), anti-GP120/CD4 or CCR5 bispecific antibodies, B-07, MB-66, polypeptide C25P, TD-0680, thioraviroc, and vMIP (Haimipu).“
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
This invention was made with government support under P01AI100148 and R01A129784 awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The government has certain rights in the invention.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to broad and potent antibodies against Human Immunodeficiency Virus (“HIV”).
https://patents.justia.com/patent/20220289829
Alright I think this is enough to get the shorts scratching their heads tomorrow
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