Integral Molecular Develops B-Cell Cloning Technology to Discover Rare Antibodies against Membrane Proteins

PHILADELPHIA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Integral Molecular, a leader in antibody discovery, announces the
development of an ultra high-throughput microfluidic B-cell cloning
technology that can interrogate tens of millions of immune cells
(B-cells), enabling deep mining of entire immune repertoires to discover
rare and diverse monoclonal antibodies for therapeutic purposes.
B-cell cloning represents a pivotal expansion of the company’s MPS
Discovery Engine® platform for isolating monoclonal antibodies against
membrane protein targets. Combined with the company’s proprietary
Lipoparticle technology for display of concentrated membrane proteins,
antibodies are isolated that recognize membrane proteins in their native
conformation, these being the most useful class of antibodies for
therapeutics. In addition, specialized screening assays can be
incorporated to isolate antibodies with desired functional properties
for targeted therapeutic applications.
The technology entails encapsulating individual antibody secreting
B-cells, together with antigen displaying Lipoparticles, into
picoliter-sized droplets. Fluorescent signals are emitted when antibody
recognition occurs within the droplet, allowing laser-sorting of
droplets and B-cell isolation. This approach enables rapid interrogation
of a host animal’s entire immune repertoire, antibody isolation directly
from host cells for natural heavy and light-chain pairing, and isolation
of diverse antibodies.
“This technology transforms antibody discovery for membrane protein
targets,” says Dr. Ross Chambers, Director of Antibody Discovery and
developer of the B-cell cloning technology. “The combination of antigen
display on Lipoparticles, use of evolutionarily divergent species for
antibody elicitation against conserved targets, and now B-cell cloning
for rapid isolation of rare antibodies enable us to deliver
first-in-class therapeutic candidates to our discovery partners.”
About Integral Molecular
Integral Molecular is a research-driven biotechnology company creating a
pipeline of therapeutic antibodies against under-exploited membrane
protein targets, including GPCRs, ion channels, transporters, and viral
envelope proteins, using its proprietary MPS Discovery Engine®. This
platform is built on the company’s Lipoparticle and Shotgun Mutagenesis
technologies and over 15 years of experience optimizing membrane
proteins, enabling the isolation, characterization, and engineering of
monoclonal antibodies against otherwise intractable membrane protein
targets. Integral Molecular discovers antibodies for partners in
parallel with its own independent work developing antibodies for
licensing. The company currently has therapeutic programs focused on
pain, autoimmunity, and infectious diseases.