Batavia eyes Horizon CHO cell tech to develop anti-Zika antibody

03-Sep-2019 - Last updated on 03-Sep-2019 at 19:37 GMT

(Image: Horizon Discovery)

Batavia Biosciences signs a license agreement to use Horizon Discovery’s cell line expression system to produce a Zika virus-neutralizing antibody.

Horizon Discovery’s GS knockout CHO K1 cell line expression system develops high yield antibody-expressing cell lines, according to the company.

Per its collaboration with Batavia Biosciences, which is working with Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and IDBiologics, Horizon Discovery’s technology will be used to produce a Zika virus-neutralizing antibody.

VUMC researchers discovered the antibody – ZIKV-117 – three years ago in collaboration with the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

“Developing high yield antibody producer CHO lines is difficult and expensive,” said Robert Carnahan, PhD, director of Vanderbilt Antibody and Protein Resource, in a statement. “That is why this new solution is so important to the anti-Zika antibody project.”

Chuck Haines, CEO of IDBiologics, added: “We are looking forward with great anticipation to receiving the Zika virus antibody cell line from the VUMC-Batavia collaboration and continuing to advance this product to the clinic.”