Lankenau Institute for Medical Research out-licenses antibody display platform technology to OCMS Bio
Antibody-based therapies tailored to specific disease molecules are the chief biologics used as injectable medicines in health care today. But the creation of these new medicines starts with cloning an antibody from the immune cell factories that synthesize them. At present, the cloning process is painstaking, costly in time and resources, and fraught with failure in obtaining antibodies with the vital characteristics of a true medicine.
Dr. Dessain’s new technology platform, called On-Cell mAb Screening (OCMS™), improves the standard technology in several ways. Most importantly it enables rapid identification and isolation of B cells that secrete antibodies with desired characteristics that can be challenging or impossible to obtain by existing methods.
In preclinical studies, Dr. Dessain and his lab team showed how the OCMS™ platform could rapidly characterize poliovirus-neutralizing mAbs from patients, and isolate mAbs that can diagnose a potentially fatal autoimmune brain inflammation.
“We are excited to make Dr. Dessain’s breakthroughs available to the biotechnology community,” said Martina Molsbergen, chief commercial officer of OCMS Bio, based in Wynnewood, Pa. “His innovation will produce an unprecedented array of diagnostic and therapeutic mAbs, which will advance patient care exponentially.”
The technology platform captures and displays antibodies secreted by hybridoma cells, which are hybrid cells often employed by biotech developers for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Further, the OCMS™technology enables fluorescent on-cell screening, making the sought-after mAbs easily identifiable. Once identified, the mAbs then can be analyzed for expression level, binding activity and other characteristics.
“Dr. Dessain’s novel technology enables a new suite of useful methods to obtain antibodies that are otherwise difficult or impossible to clone from patients,” said George Prendergast, PhD, president and CEO of LIMR. “It is a remarkable achievement, and we’re thrilled to have reached this licensing agreement with OCMS Bio, demonstrating once again LIMR’s continuing commitment to improve human health through research and entrepreneurship.”
Dr. Dessain is director of the Center for Human Antibody Technology at LIMR and holds the Joseph and Ray Gordon Chair in Clinical Oncology and Research.
In addition to conducting biomedical research, LIMR’s resident faculty develop new biopharmaceutical and medical device technologies, particularly in the fields of cancer, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders and regenerative medicine.
The licensing deal was shepherded to a close by L2C Partners, a Wynnewood,Pa.-based company specializing in technology transfer and commercialization services that is partnered with LIMR to help manage and develop its intellectual property portfolio.
About Main Line Health
Founded in 1985, Main Line Health® is a not-for-profit health system serving the Philadelphia region and beyond. Main Line Health consists of five hospitals, six health centers and over 150 medical practice locations. The System has more than 14,000 employees and over 2,100 employed and independent physicians and advanced practice providers.
At its core are four of the region's most respected acute care hospitals — Lankenau Medical Center, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital and Riddle Hospital — as well as one of the nation's premier facilities for rehabilitative medicine, Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital. Main Line Health also includes Mirmont Treatment Center for drug and alcohol recovery; Main Line Health HomeCare & Hospice, providing skilled home healthcare, hospice and home infusion services; Main Line Health Centers, primary and specialty care, lab and radiology and other outpatient services located in Broomall, Collegeville, Concordville, Exton, King of Prussia and Newtown Square; and Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, a biomedical research organization.
Main Line Health's medical staff benefits from a collaborative relationship including independent physicians, community healthcare professionals and hospital-based experts from Main Line HealthCare, the employed multi-specialty physician network of Main Line Health.
Main Line Health collaborates with top experts to deliver exceptional specialty care. Through our affiliation with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, doctors and advanced practice providers care for pediatric patients at select Main Line Health locations, including the neonatal intensive care units at Main Line Health's four acute care hospitals, as well as Bryn Mawr Hospital's Inpatient Pediatric Unit and Emergency Department. Jefferson Health neurosurgeons and neurointerventionalists provide 24/7 specialized care, including neurointervention and lifesaving stroke care, and trauma surgeons provide critical care to our patients. Through our affiliation with Sheppard Pratt — a nonprofit provider of mental health services, substance use, developmental disability and other comprehensive behavioral health support — patients receive compassionate care in a welcoming environment.
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About Lankenau Institute for Medical Research
Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR) is a nonprofit biomedical research institute located on the campus of Lankenau Medical Center and is part of Main Line Health. Founded in 1927, LIMR's mission is to improve human health and well-being. Using its ACAPRENEURIALTM organizational model that integrates academic and entrepreneurial approaches, faculty and staff are devoted to advancing innovative new strategies to address formidable medical challenges including cancer, cardiovascular disease, tissue regeneration, gastrointestinal disorders and autoimmune diseases such as arthritis. LIMR's principal investigators conduct basic, preclinical and clinical research, using their findings to explore ways to improve disease detection, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. They are committed to extending the boundaries of human health through technology transfer and training of the next generation of scientists and physicians.
About OCMS Bio, LLC
OCMS Bio, LLC, is a startup biotech company that will commercialize the OCMS™ technology for the discovery and production of human and other mammalian mAbs.
About L2C Partners
L2C Partners offers institutions and research organizations expert outsourced technology transfer and commercialization services. Committed to innovators and to moving inventions from the lab (or the studio) to society, L2C helps its clients optimize the opportunity posed by an existing gap in the life sciences/technology/manufacturing ecosystem. L2C Partners currently supports health system, research institution, colleges and university clients across the eastern United States. The company, powered by veteran business and tech transfer executives, is headquartered in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.