The antibody therapeutics industry is growing at an incredible pace. From early monoclonal therapeutic antibodies to modern bispecific and multispecific antibodies, single domain antibodies (VHHs), and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), the modality of therapeutic antibody agents keeps expanding. The demand for the discovery of these antibodies is increasing, and even more samples are needed to be produced and tested in a high-throughput fashion. With multiple approaches sometimes targeting the same disease indication, competition is fierce – and researchers want quicker discovery and shorter project turnaround times. For a company to produce antibodies faster, it must ensure that faster speed does not compromise the quality of work and products. Generating and producing more antibodies faster requires carefully designed high-throughput discovery platforms with a reliable process. Here are two examples of how specialized antibodies are being discovered in fast, efficient, and novel ways.
High throughput single-B cell antibody discovery platform
Single-B cell platforms are often developed based on three types of technologies: nanowell, microfluidic, and nanovial. Among these, microfluidic technology has been applied to related research in single-cell genetics, epigenetics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolism. Additionally, it has the potential to achieve higher throughput and greater flexibility.
Compared to other methods for antibody discovery, single-B cell technology shows several advantages. Hybridoma technology is low-throughput and requires a timeline of 4-6 months. Bacterial phage display can perform at high-throughput and is more efficient at only 3-4 weeks, but it could have a higher rate of clones with developability issues and /or produce antibodies that possess unnaturally paired light and heavy chains. Single-B cell technology, when applied to antibody discovery, however, is both high-throughput and can allow the identification of antibodies with paired light and heavy chains in 1-2 weeks.
The single-B cell sorting process at Biointron (www.biointron.com) begins with sample preparation. Once mice are immunized with immunogen, B cells positive-selected with microbeads are distributed singularly in droplets containing binding reagents and antigens, such as directly labeled protein targets or cells expressing specific targets. These droplets are then cultured to allow binding to happen. Sorting can be done to identify droplets containing single cells with a positive binding signal. Combined with NGS sequencing and HTP antibody production, this antibody discovery platform is capable of generating diverse, high-affinity antibodies against multiple epitopes within 2-3 months and has the potential to accelerate therapeutic development for a broad range of targets – including challenging transmembrane protein targets such as GPCR.
A proven and reliable alpaca VHH antibody discovery platform
Camelid single domain antibody (VHH) has been increasingly regarded as a valuable and versatile component for next-generation multispecific antibody therapeutics and cell therapies. The application of these alpaca or llama VHH also makes the animal-based antibody discovery platforms perform at an expedited pace when it’s combined with phage display technology. Depending on the target, companies can use purified proteins, DNA, over-expressing target cell lines, or a hybrid of these methods to immunize and achieve optimal serum antibody titer levels in naïve alpaca with trackable records.
An immunized phage library using PBMC samples can be quickly and efficiently constructed for phage panning since VHH is single chain without the concern of H/L chain matching. Typically, a ~109 library can be obtained with high CDR diversity. Solid-phase and solution-based phage panning are commonly used, often in parallel or in combination, to select antigen-specific binders. Once the VHH binders are screened, confirmed, and sequence identified, Biointron's proprietary high-throughput mammalian cell expression platform produces VHH candidates in under 2 weeks to provide mg-scale purified samples for further characterization – first with ELISA and/or FACS binding validation and often followed by SPR affinity determination, epitope binning, and preliminary functional assays.
How can biopharma benefit from specialized antibody production?
High-throughput antibody production platforms combine automated screening with recombinant DNA technologies, drastically reducing the time required to progress from gene synthesis to antibody production. The speed and efficiency afforded by these platforms are critical in addressing urgent medical needs, such as emerging infectious diseases and fast-developing cancers. Additionally, their ability to screen vast libraries of antibodies ensures a higher likelihood of discovering therapeutics with superior specificity and potency.
Because of this, the future for antibody-based therapies looks bright. As of 2024, there are now a total of 175 antibody drugs approved worldwide, with most treatments targeted for cancer, autoimmune and infectious diseases. Novel antibody modalities (e.g. antibody fragments, fusion proteins, multispecifics, and ADCs) and indications for other therapeutic areas (e.g. neurological, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal diseases) are continuously being developed.
In this landscape of evolving possibilities, Biointron stands out as an unparalleled choice as a leading high-throughput recombinant antibody/protein expression and discovery service provider. The company has over 12 years of experience focusing solely on antibody production. From gene sequence to purified antibodies, it just takes 2 weeks from sequence to purified recombinant antibody. Biointron has delivered tens of thousands of recombinant antibodies for more than 1,500 biotech and pharma companies all over the world.
Would you like to find out more about antibody production?
Visit Biointron’s Learning Center or contact our expert team at [email protected] or +1 (732) 790 - 8340.