astar

Visterra, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company that uses its proprietary technology platform to identify unique disease targets and design novel therapeutics for infectious diseases, and the Drug Discovery & Development (D3) unit under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, today announced a collaboration to further the development of VIS513, Visterra’s broadly neutralizing antibody for the treatment of dengue fever.

VIS513, which was engineered using Visterra’s innovative and proprietary technology, is a humanized monoclonal antibody thatis designed to bind and potently neutralize all four serotypes of dengue virus.  The company’s preclinical studies of VIS513 in animal models have demonstrated a rapid reduction in viral titers after a single systemic administration, which supports its potential use as a single administration treatment for dengue virus infection.

The collaboration combines Visterra’s expertise in therapeutic antibodies for challenging infectious diseases with D3’s proficiency in bringing early stage discoveries into clinical development. D3 and Visterra will also work together with infectious disease experts at Duke-National University of Singapore (Duke-NUS) to generate additional data necessary to initiate clinical trials of VIS513. Upon completion of these activities, D3 and Visterra will advance VIS513 through proof-of-concept clinical trials in humans, which will be conducted in Singapore. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Visterra retains all rights to develop and commercialize VIS513 globally.

“This collaboration illustrates D3’s goal of bringing innovative early-stage research that addresses unmet medical needs in Singapore to proof-of-concept clinical trials in humans,” said Prof Alex Matter MD, Chief Executive Officer of D3 and A*STAR’s Experimental Therapeutics Centre (ETC).

Being optimistic about the collaboration, Prof Alex said that they are encouraged by VIS513’s preclinical data, which demonstrate its potential to broadly neutralize all four dengue virus serotypes, as there is currently no specific treatment for dengue, and prevention depends solely on limiting or eradicating mosquitoes that transmit the virus.

He added that A*STAR is looking forward to working closely with Visterra and advancing VIS513 into the clinic.

Brian J. G. Pereira, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Visterra said, “We are delighted to enter into this collaboration with D3, which enables us to utilize the exceptional capabilities, infrastructure and emerging infectious diseases expertise in Singapore to rapidly bring our promising antibody for dengue fever, VIS513, from preclinical to clinical development,”

He added, “Visterra’s has deep roots in Singapore because of our long-standing association with the Infectious Disease Interdisciplinary Group of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre, which has made important contributions by advancing our scientific understanding of dengue fever and the potential role of antibodies to combat the virus.”

There is currently no specific treatment for dengue and prevention depends solely on effective vector control measures. The global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades.

About half of the world’s population is at risk for dengue fever and a recent study estimates that approximately 390 million people are infected each year. The World Health Organization estimates that 500,000 people with severe dengue require hospitalization each year, a large proportion of whom are children, and more than 20,000 of those affected die each year.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

Netizens slam cashless payment system; call for improvements to prevent customers from scamming hawkers

While cashless payment systems have increased the convenience of patrons in Singapore,…

AVA: Singapore does not import meat from suspended meat processing establishments in Brazil

The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) has announced that Singapore does not…

小贩休假一周前未通知将罚款 司徒国辉再揭社企小贩中心苛刻合约

本地美食家司徒国辉,揭露本地社会企业管理小贩中心,在合约中限定小贩们必须24小时营业,每周两日周休。如果小贩要另行请假,则需在一个月内通知管理层,否则将遭罚款250元。 他在个人脸书专页,张贴疑是淡滨尼综合小贩中心的摊位租赁合约部分内容。其中提到,小贩如要请假必须一周前通知租约许可人,否则需付违约赔偿金,从销售退款支票中扣除250元。而如果小贩在一个月内未通知就休假超过五次,许可人有权终止合约,租户还需赔偿损失。 对于一再重犯的租户,需赔偿高达每日500元的违约金。 司徒国辉认为,假设是在私人商场或食阁,买卖租赁都是自由选择,地主肯定可以随喜好征收费用或订合约。但是搞社会企业和管理公共资助的小贩中心,就请不要这么做。 他认为,社企有责任确保公众享有经济美食,而不是增加小贩成本和消费者的开销。 “请想想,如果家中小孩或长辈临时有急事,小贩需临时休业回家处理,如果管理层认为小贩无故休假多日,难道要罚他每日500元的赔偿金?” 连放多少蔬菜、卡路里都要管 他揭露,有关社企小贩中心合约洋洋洒洒51页,甚至有条文限定每盘菜肴该有多少蔬菜和卡路里;例如椰浆饭没有放黄瓜片就不算合格。 “再者,如果小贩无法维持国家环境局的’A’级卫生指标,也会被当作违约。即便有些参观也很难长期维系卫生指标,更何况是新手小贩?” 感到这些繁文缛节对小贩绑手绑脚,司徒国辉呼吁有关管理层砍掉这些不必要的束缚,小贩反而能放开手去做,肯定能吸引更多食客到来。他提醒,小贩事业需要的是扶持才能蓬勃成长,而不是用惩处规章诸多掣肘。 一些读者看到司徒国辉的贴文,也留言分享本身经历。网民Brian Liew说,原本和获颁有意申请淡滨尼综合中心的小贩档口。但是看见其中设定的不合理规章、租金和条件,令他打退堂鼓。…

鉴定登广告者身份、位置 脸书严控政治广告

为提高我国平台上的社会政治广告透明度,社交媒体巨头脸书(Facebook)今日起(26日)推出系列措施,包括任何想在脸书或Instagram上,投放与我国相关的社会、选举或政治课题的人士或组织,都需要使用护照或身份证等证件,来确认身份、所在位置,以证明他们身处国内。 脸书也要相关人士提供广告的负责人名字、组织名称、或类似广告“付费人”资料,并且附上联系方式,如电话号码、电邮地址或网站。 脸书全球选举公共政策主管凯迪·哈巴思(Katie Harbath)今天在博客中做出以上宣布。 鉴定过程需耗数周 她指出,想要刊登与某些社会问题有关联的广告,如公民和社会权利、移民、犯罪、政治价值观和政府治理方针等的人士,也需要通过有关程序。 哈巴思表示,这些课题将根据外部咨询,以及脸书内部研究发现来鉴定,通常类似课题都成为了国人在脸书上经常辩论的话题。 而广告的鉴定程序,需要花费两天到数周的时间。 设置“广告库” 脸书也会设置一个“广告库”,将具有社会政治意义的广告放置其中七年,民众也能从中了解到广告的花费,以及游览广告的人数。 同时,他们也能了解到游览者的人口统计信息,包括年龄范围、性别、位置等信息,而广告库的应用程序编程接口(API)也将供研究人员、学者、记者和公众进行有关政治性广告的学习。 哈巴思表示,当局也将在数周内推出广告库报告(Ad…